



Class _Z_L 

Book I 

Copyright N°._ 



C0JMRIGHT DEPOSHV 



COUNTRY LIFE 

AND 

THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



A Study of the Agencies of Rural Progress and of the 

Social Relationship of the School 

to the Country Community 



BY 

MABEL CARNEY 

DIRECTOR OF THE COUNTRY SCHOOL DEPARTMENT IN THE ILLINOIS STATE 

NORMAL UNIVERSITY, NORMAL; FORMERLY COUNTRY TRAINING 

TEACHER OF THE WESTERN ILLINOIS STATE NORMAL 

SCHOOL, MACOMB 



CHICAGO 
ROW. PETERSON AND COMPANY 






Good Books For Teachers 

Methods of Teaching — Charters $1.25 

Principles of Teaching — Harvey 1.25 

Reading in Public Schools — Briggs & Coffman 1.25 

School Management — Salisbury 1.00 

The Theory of Teaching — Salisbury 1.25 

The Educational Meaning of Manual Arts and Indus- 
tries — Row 1.25 

The Personality of the Teacher — McKenny 1.00 

The Psychology of Conduct — Schroeder 1.25 



Copyright, 1912 
ROW, PETERSON AND COMPANY 



©CLA328457 



To the spirit of the little country school 
that gave it being, and to the country 
teachers of Illinois whose loyalty and 
earnest effort have been a chief inspira- 
tion in its undertaking. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/countrylifecount01carn 



PREFACE 

This book is for farmers and country teachers, written not 
about them, but to them. It takes form as the direct outgrowth 
and personal need of eight years' work in country teaching and 
the training of country teachers. Many of its pages were 
written within the walls of a country schoolroom, and prac- 
tically all of its suggestions have been tried with success in 
average country communities. 

The fundamental line of thought here maintained unfolds 
as follows : 

First, that the chief relief for the present undesirable condi- 
tions of country life is to be realized through the cooperative 
endeavor of farmers and the upbuilding of local country 
communities. 

Second, that the country school of all rural social institu- 
tions makes the best and most available center for upbuilding 
the rural community, and bears at present the greatest respon- 
sibility for socializing country life. 

Third, that to realize this social service of the country school 
country teachers must become local community leaders. 

And fourth, that to fulfill this office of leadership efficiently 
country teachers must be afforded special training through 
state normal schools and other institutions of learning. 

The discussion thus presented views the country school as 
an immediate agency for rural progress, and to this end seeks 
especially to stimulate and assist country teachers to local 
leadership. In realizing this purpose a twofold task has pre- 
sented itself. It has been necessary, in the first place, to reveal 
the social-service responsibility of the country school; and 
second, to lay down a practical line of action, or program of 

v 



VI 



PREFACE 



work, showing concretely how this responsibility may be dis- 
charged by the individual teacher. In furthering the latter 
end it has been necessary to include, also, considerable definite 
information concerning the various agencies of farm life with 
which the country teacher must cooperate in seeking to upbuild 
the rural community. This information covers only what all 
country teachers who aspire to community leadership and 
service must possess, and what every progressive farmer 
should know. It is this body of data and discussion which 
will make the book, it is believed, one of direct value for 
farmers as well as for country teachers. 

It has been the hope throughout this attempt to present a 
new vision of country teaching. If this has been done, and if 
the country teachers who read this book are stimulated to 
renewed action and encouragement for their many difficult 
tasks, the effort lying behind its realization will be fully 
compensated. 

Normal, Illinois, September, 1912. M. C. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

To insure accuracy and practicability in the treatment of the 
various phases of country life discussed in this book, different 
chapters have been read and criticized by specialists in the 
lines to which they refer. 

Special acknowledgment for this generous service is here 
gratefully extended to : Mrs. H. M. Dunlap, president of the 
Department of Household Science of the Illinois Farmers' 
Institute, for reading the chapter on the farm home; to Dr. 
Warren H. Wilson and Miss Anna B. Taft, Superintendent 
and Assistant Superintendent of the Department of Church 
and Country Life of the Presbyterian Board of Home Mis- 
sions, for reading the chapter on the country church ; to Sec- 
retary Albert E. Roberts of the International Committee of the 
Young Men's Christian Association, for reading the section 
on this organization; to Mr. Oliver Wilson, Master of the 
National Grange and editor of the Xational Grange Monthly, 
for reading the chapter on the Grange; to Farmers' Institute 
Specialist John Hamilton of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, for reading the chapter on farmers' institutes ; to 
Mr. Arthur J. Bill, editor of the Farmers' Voice, Bloomington, 
Illinois, for reading the section relating to the agricultural 
press and for the use of numerous photographs ; to Mr. A. X. 
Johnson, State Highway Engineer of Illinois, for reading the 
chapter on roads; to Dr. Ernest Burnham, director of the 
Rural School Department of the Michigan State Normal 
School at Kalamazoo, for reading the chapter on the train- 
ing of country teachers; to County Superintendents O. J. 
Kern and George W. Brown, of Winnebago and Edgar Coun- 
ties in Illinois, for reading the chapter on supervision; and 

vii 



viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

to Miss Lillian K. Sabine of the Illinois State Normal Uni- 
versity, for a careful literary editing of the entire manuscript. 

To these and to the many state superintendents, county 
superintendents, country teachers, and rural life workers, who 
have courteously and kindly assisted me throughout the inves- 
tigations spent upon this study, I offer my sincere appreciation. 
Special mention should be made also of the assistance of Presi- 
dent Kenyon L. Butterfield of the Massachusetts College of 
Agriculture, whose thought and suggestion, as expressed in 
books, lectures, and personal conference, has been a funda- 
mental guide in fostering any elements of worth that may 
exist in the conclusions here presented. 

But more than to all others, gratitude is due to Dr. Frederick 
G. Bonser of Teachers College, Columbia University, formerly 
of the Western Illinois State Normal School, who has not only 
read practically the entire manuscript of the book and given 
invaluable advice as to its organization and expression, but has 
inspired and encouraged the undertaking throughout its accom- 
plishment. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 
The Farm Problem and Its Solution 

PAGE 

The problem stated I 

Its significance 3 

Cause : isolation in country life 4 

Solution of the farm problem 7 

Country community building 9 

Cooperation the keynote in the solution of the farm 

problem 10 

Agencies for the upbuilding of the country community. . 12 

Chief functions and needs of rural social institutions. . 12 

Overlapping of agencies in function and effort 14 

Federation of community agencies 16 

Platform for the improvement of country life 16 

CHAPTER II 
The Farm Home 

The farm home as an agency for country life progress. . 18 

Present conditions in farm homes 19 

The improvement of farm home life 24 

The decrease of household labor 25 

Vocational education for country women 29 

The participation of farm women in community affairs ... 30 

The spiritualizing of farm home life 31 

The farm home as the center of rural interests 33 

ix 



x CONTENTS 

CHAPTER III 
The Country Church 

PAGE 

The country church as an agency for rural progress. ... 39 
The present status of country churches : Digest of country 
church information from the replies gathered by the 
Country Life Commission 40 

What Is Being Done for Progress 

Church federation 47 

Special training for country ministers 51 

The Department of Church and Country Life of the Pres- 
byterian Board of Home Missions 53 

County work of the Young Men's Christian Association. . 57 

What Might Be Done for Progress 

General lines of progress 60 

Possibilities for progress in the individual local church; 
story of the DuPage Presbyterian Church in Will 

County, Illinois 62 

The country teacher's attitude and relation to the church 

question 6j 

The coming unity among churches 69 



CHAPTER IV 

The Grange 

The Grange as an agency for country life progress 72 

Origin and purpose of the Grange y2 

History 75 

Organization 76 

Work and influence 78 

The subordinate Grange at work; Magnolia Grange, 

Putnam County, Illinois 81 



CONTENTS x i 

PAGE 

Words of warning to the Grange 85 

Farmers' clubs 85 

Cooperation between the Grange and the country school . . 88 



CHAPTER V 

Farmers' Institutes and the Agricultural Press 

Farmers' institutes as an agency for country life progress 90 

Origin and history of farmers' institutes 90 

Organization of farmers' institutes 93 

Present status and progress 96 

The agricultural press as a rural socializing agency 100 

Farmers' institutes and the country school 102 

CHAPTER VI 

Roads and the Road Problem 

Roads as an agency for country life progress 108 

The road problem a national issue 108 

The road system of France as a type of efficient high- 
way organization no 

Organization of the American highway system 113 

Some defects of the American highway system 114 

Suggestions for an improved highway system 117 

Some progressive road movements and reforms: legis- 
lative improvements 1 18 

State aid and increased revenue 119 

Developments in road science 119 

Increased road sentiment and cooperation 122 

Road beautifying 125 

Road education 126 

The country school and the road problem 129 

Roads of the future I 3 I 



xii CONTENTS 

CHAPTER VII 

The Country School as an Agency in the Solution of the 
Farm Problem 

PAGE 

Function of the country school defined 133 

The school as a center for the building of the country com- 
munity 134 

Advantages of the country school for rural institutional 

leadership 136 

Leadership of the school largely a temporary function. . 138 

Needs of the country school 139 

The one-teacher country school system and its defects. . 140 

The country school system of the future 145 

Consolidation the fundamental need of country schools. 148 



CHAPTER VIII 
Consolidated Country Schools 

Definition and types 149 

Possibilities of consolidation; The John Swaney Consoli- 
dated School of Putnam County, Illinois 150 

History and status of the consolidation movement 159 

Advantages of consolidation 170 

Difficulties involved 171 

Some phases of the question of transportation 171 

The cost of consolidated schools. 174 

The consolidated country school compared with other 

types of rural high schools 176 

The need of a county system of districting for consoli- 
dation 181 

The consolidated school as a community center and in the 

future development of country life 184 



CONTENTS xiii 

CHAPTER IX 

The Leadership of the Country Teacher 

PAGE 

Scarcity of rural leaders and its effect 188 

Opportunity and advantages of the country teacher for 

community leadership 189 

Requirements for leadership on the part of country 

teachers 190 

True leadership explained 192 

Difficulties of country teaching. 193 

Tribute to country teachers 195 

Examples of country teacher leadership 196 

Country life creed 203 



CHAPTER X 

The Country Teacher's Problem and Its Attack 

The problem stated 205 

The method of its attack 206 

I. Improving the Physical Environment of the Country School 



The 

Defects of country school buildings 206 

Heating and ventilation 210 

Lighting 214 

Interior finish and decoration. . . 216 

Seating 219 

Sanitation and care 221 

The grounds — 
Beginning yard improvement 224 



xiv CONTENTS 

PAGE 

What to plant 225 

Walks and fences 227 

Summer houses, arbors, and arches 228 

Outbuildings 228 

II. Socializing the Country School and Making It an Institution 

of Community Service 

Personal leadership of the teacher ; visiting among people 229 

Social activities of the children ; boys' and girls' clubs 230 

Making the school a center for the community; school- 
house meetings 232 

Developing cooperation between the home and school; 

parents' clubs 234 

Other agencies for the socialization of the country school ; 

newspapers; exhibits; educational excursions 235 

A country life club the best social organization for the 

country school 237 

Cooperation of the school with other community institu- 
tions and agencies «... 238 

III. Vitalizing and Enriching the Country School Course of 

Study 

The redirection of old subject-matter 240 

The introduction of new courses 242 

Elementary rural sociology in the country school. ....... 245 

IV. Improving the Administration of the School and Teaching 

the Necessity of a Change of System, or Consolida- 
tion, FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

The beginning, of a consolidation campaign 248 

General educational campaigns 249 

Township or community organization 249 

Outspoken consolidation campaigns 250 



CONTENTS xv 

CHAPTER XI 
The Training of Country Teachers 

The need for properly prepared country teachers 252 

Necessity for the special training of country teachers . . . 252 

Kind of special training needed by county teachers 254 

Special training now offered for country teachers: in 

high schools 255 

In county normal schools 256 

In state normal schools 258 

The new spirit of country teachers 273 

A suggestive outline for country school departments in 

state normal schools 275 

Trained teachers not the only need for solving the country 

school problem 280 



CHAPTER XII 
Country School Supervision 

Importance of country school supervision 281 

Difficulties 281 

Systems of rural supervision employed in the United States 886 

Methods of selecting county superintendents 287 

Qualifications required of county superintendents 288 

Increasing the efficiency of the county superintendency. . 289 

The proper method of selecting county superintendents. 294 

Leadership of the county superintendent 295 

Inspiration and help for county superintendents 296 

The chief need 298 

The duty of teachers to county superintendents 300 

Some other legislative measures needed for country 

schools 300 



xvi CONTENTS 

CHAPTER XIII 
The Country Life Movement 

PAGE 

Character of the Country Life Movement 302 

Some Developments of the Country Life Movement 

Work of the State College of Agriculture 303 

Influence of machinery 305 

Business organization 306 

Agricultural legislation 306 

The Country Life Movement in the South 307 

The Country Life Movement in the East 309 

The Country Life Movement in the West 309 

The Country Life Movement in the Middle West 310 

The International Institute of Agriculture 312 

The Country Life Commission and its work 312 

Needs of the Country Life Movement 

Concreteness 313 

Federation of rural forces 316 

Leadership 321 

Idealism 323 

Concluding summary 326 



APPENDIX 

PAGE 

I. Outline of a course in country school teaching for 

country teachers 329 

II. Outline of a course in rural sociology for country 

teachers 336 

III. A country teacher's schoolhouse plan 340 

IV. Furnishings and equipment for country schools. . 346 
V. Educational helps and sources for country teachers 350 

VI. A workable country school program 358 

VII. Seatwork in country schools and some principles 

underlying it 360 

VIII. Pictures that portray farm life 363 

IX. Some country life literature 365 

X. Country school music and farm life songs 368 

XL A minimum list of manual training tools for coun- 
try schools 372 

XII. A minimum equipment for the teaching of do- 
mestic science in country schools 373 

XIII. A selected list of twenty-five books for the use of 

country teachers 374 

XIV. Suggested problems of country school teaching for 

the attack of individual country teachers .... 376 

directory of rural progress 384 

bibliography ...... 388 

index 399 



XVil 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Country life in America 3 

Corn is king 4 

Mud-stuck days are still a reality 5 

An abandoned country church 8 

Friends' Church, Clear Creek Community, Putnam County, Illinois. 11 

Diagram of a country community center 15 

An ideal farm home 20 

An inferior farm home 24 

Office in a farm home 27 

Home Makers' School, University of Illinois, Urbana 30 

Domestic science in the country school, Macon County, Illinois 36 

Church and manse, Rock Creek Community, Menard County, 

Illinois 4 1 

Play in the Rock Creek Community 44 

Federated church, Proctor, Vermont 49 

Exhibit of the Presbyterian Department of Church and Country 

Life 55 

County work of the Young Men's Christian Association 58 

The DuPage Presbyterian Church, Will County, Illinois 63 

Lecture course audience at the DuPage Church 66 

Oliver H. Kelley, founder of the Grange 73 

Centerville Grange picnic, Winnebago County, Illinois 75 

Farmers' club, Logan County, Illinois 79 

Magnolia Grange fair, Putnam County, Illinois 82 

Harvesting picnic, farmers' clubs of DeKalb County, Illinois. 86 

Midsummer farmers' institute, Illinois College of Agriculture, 

Urbana 92 

Interurban exhibit cars from the Illinois College of Agriculture. ... 95 
Household Science Department at the National Corn Exposition, 

Columbus, Ohio, 191 1 9$ 

The Grout encampment for farm boys 99 

Boys' corn class, farmers' institute, Mercer County, Illinois 104 

The road problem I0 9 

A French highway 112 

Avenue of Trees. Hobbema. . ll S 

xix 



xx LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

An automobile ravaging a road 120 

Marking the route of the Iowa River-to-River Dragged Road 124 

A noble sentinel 126 

A properly dragged earth road 128 

The road of the future 132 

The country school as a community center. 135 

An average country school 137 

An ancient landmark of learning , 139 

Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago County, Illinois 141 

Domestic science in the Harlem Consolidated School 144 

An expensive establishment 145 

School float, Harlem Consolidated School 147 

The John Swaney Consolidated School, Putnam County, Illinois.. 149 

Barn and janitor's house at the John Swaney School 150 

Teachers' Cottage, John Swaney School 151 

Stock judging class, John Swaney School 152 

Horticultural class pruning trees, John Swaney School 153 

Baseball field, John Swaney School 154 

Girls' Chorus, John Swaney School 155 

Domestic science kitchen and chemical laboratory in the John 

Swaney School 157 

Mr. and Mrs. John Swaney 159 

Track team, John Swaney School 160 

Map of Indiana showing extent of consolidation 161 

Consolidated School, Lewiston, Minnesota 164 

Consolidated School, Enumclaw, Washington 167 

The old and the new in Louisiana 169 

Consolidated school wagon 173 

Township High School, Princeton, Illinois 177 

Map of Olmsted County, Minnesota, showing proposed consolidated 

districts 183 

School garden, John Swaney School 185 

On the campus, John Swaney School 186 

A country school prepared for community leadership 191 

When first we go to school 193 

Procuring the necessary kindling 195 

Cedar Oak School, the scene of Miss Mary's endeavors 197 

Closing day picnic in District 23 201 

An old type of country school building 207 

A new type of country school building 211 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xxi 

PAGE 

Library room, Peru School, Macon County, Illinois 217 

Cultivating minds and spirits through flower gardens 224 

A monarch of the prairie 226 

A disgrace to the community 228 

Girls' club ready for the Thanksgiving minuet 231 

Chorus cast, Peru School, Macon County, Illinois 233 

Play festival, Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago County, 

Illinois 235 

Agricultural College excursion, Edgar County, Illinois 237 

Practical Arithmetic 239 

A sand-table farm 243 

Country school gardening in Massachusetts 245 

The Harvest — Training school children of the Western Illinois 

State Normal School 247 

Play-day masque, Illinois State Normal University 251 

Teachers' Training School, Dunn County Wisconsin 255 

Dramatization of Hiawatha, Rural Observation School, Kalamazoo, 

Michigan 259 

Country teachers at the Illinois State Normal University 263 

Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal 

School before improvement 267 

Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal 

School after improvement 271 

First annual meeting of the Country Teachers' Association of 

Illinois, Macomb, July, 1908 2^^ 

Full of difficulties for the county superintendent 283 

Manual training in Whatcom County, Washington 286 

County Superintendent Jessie Field, Page County, Iowa 291 

Complimentary float to Superintendent O. J. Kern of Winnebago 

County, Illinois 293 

School directors' convention, Goodhue County, Minnesota 297 

A subject for school legislation 299 

Conference of Rural Social Workers, College of Agriculture. 

Amherst, Massachusetts 303 

The cotton harvester 305 

Dr. Seaman A. Knapp 308 

Rural Life Conference, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 311 

National Corn Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, February, 191 1 315 

Country community exhibit displayed at the Illinois Federation for 
Country Life Progress, July, 1912 Z l 7 



xxii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



The poetry of country life 321 

The end of day 325 

A country teacher's schoolhouse plan: 

Front elevation 341 

Rear elevation 341 

Right side elevation 342 

First floor plan 343 

Basement plan .■ 345 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE 
COUNTRY SCHOOL 

CHAPTER I 
THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 

The Problem Stated. There is an American farm prob- 
lem. The whole nation is astir with it; its significance is 
commonly acknowledged; and remedies for its solution are 
proposed on every hand. In the interpretation of this prob- 
lem, however, opinions differ. 

The farm problem of America is not, as is sometimes 
asserted, the task of increasing the fertility of the soil, of 
improving staple crops, or even of conserving our food, for- 
ests, and other natural resources. It is not the problem of in- 
creasing the skill and business efficiency of the modern farmer ; 
nor, as he himself sometimes thinks, of adding to his store of 
worldly goods. Neither is it the problem of making country 
life easy and comfortable, though this, in degree, is highly 
desirable. All these are constituent parts of the real issue; 
they have their bearing and relationship, but they are not the 
problem itself. 

The most serious condition of present country life is the 
silent but startling migration of the rural population to towns 
and cities. To the ambitious country boy the city has always 
proved alluring. It seems to offer a larger field of social 
activity and conquest. That this conquest is for the few, he 
has usually failed to realize, and has mercilessly, though often 

1 



2 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

successfully, thrown himself into the thickest of the fray, 
forgetful and unconscious of the many neglected opportunities 
in the home community. This inflowing current of fresh 
blood and vigorous strength toward our great commercial 
centers has had, and still has, its place in our national develop- 
ment. In New England and other over-populated and unpro- 
ductive agricultural sections it has even proved desirable. 
But it has gone too far. Rural migration no longer means 
only the occasional shifting of a few brilliant sons to the city, 
as formerly. It now implies the uprooting and withdrawal of 
whole families whose members, for the most part, represent 
the highest idealism and ambition of the country community. 
As a result, leadership has been extracted from rural localities, 
agriculture has declined, and country life has lost prestige both 
socially and economically. Fortunately we are now in the 
period of a new awakening, when the tide of interest begins 
to ebb from the rush and strife of the city, and to turn, with 
relief and satisfaction, back to the country. 

The problem of keeping the youth of the present genera- 
tion upon the farms and of preparing them for country life 
in its fullest and richest sense is an issue of fundamental 
concern in our national welfare. By this it is not implied that 
all children born upon the farm should stay there. Few 
fallacies could be more wasteful and destructive of human 
efficiency than this. In this age of specialists country children 
naturally inclined to enter the so-called "trades and profes- 
sions" should have the opportunity. Yet, at the same time, 
adequate care must be given to those who remain upon the 
land if we are to maintain an efficient class of citizens in 
our rural communities and desirable averages in our national 
life. 

The farm problem, then, in its most fundamental aspects, 
is the problem of maintaining a standard people upon our 
farms. Or, as more choicely put by Professor Liberty Hyde 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION s 

o 

Bailey, it is the problem "of developing and maintaining on our 
farms a civilization in full harmony with the best American 
ideals." When this end is attained, all other issues of agri- 
culture and country life, questions of education, "of better 
business, better farming, and better living," will obviously find 
adjustment as a matter of consequence. 1 




Country Life in America 

Its Significance. That the farm is the corner-stone of 
our national prosperity is a trite but true estimate. Since the 
days of Cain, farming has been the foundational industry of 
static society. It matters little, all worthy politicians to the 
contrary, whether we choose a Republican or a Democrat for 
the next president, but whether we have enough rain to mature 
the corn, wheat, and cotton crops spread in vast acres over 
our bountiful land is a matter of universal concern — one that 
affects not only the wealthiest banker and the shrewdest broker 
but the most ragged newsboy as well. "Corn is king," and a 
monarch who never resigns his golden scepter. 

1 For this interpretation of the rural problem and much of the 
general thought of this chapter readers will observe an indebtedness 
I gladly and gratefully acknowledge to President Kenyon L. Butter- 
field of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture, author of Chapters 
in Rural Progress and of The Country Church and the Rural Problem, 



4 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The true significance of the prosperity of country life is 
appreciated, however, only when we reflect that one-third of 
our entire population gain a living directly from the soil, and 
that indirectly all depend upon it for the sustenance of life. 
Whatever affects the country is therefore of national concern, 
not only because of the material dependence of society upon 
farmers but because of the social, educational, and moral 
influence of so large a percentage of the general population. 




"Corn is King" 

In this connection the hypothesis that rural welfare is signifi- 
cant and desirable only because of its contribution to urban 
prosperity demands thorough condemnation. Farm life must 
become adequate for its own sake, and the sake of those who 
live it, not for the purpose of sending the city more or better 
recruits or for any similar reason. The city has long pros- 
pered at the expense of the country. We must now build up a 
country life that shall be satisfactory from its own viewpoint. 
When this is done it will be found that the city has benefited 
also, and that there is no clash between urban and rural wel- 
fare in their best realizations. 

Cause: Isolation in Country Life. In the last analysis 
the cause of most of the difficulties of country life can be traced 
to its openness and isolation. In this respect country life in 
America contrasts strongly with that of Europe. American 
farms average about one hundred forty-five acres, and homes 
are often a mile or more apart; separated in many sec- 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 5 

tions by a despondent stretch of mud and mire. In Europe, 
on the other hand, land holdings are small, and rural homes 
practically constitute scattered but continuous villages con- 
nected by good hard roads, centuries old. In America, espe- 
cially during the winter and early spring, bad roads alone 
make hermits of many farm families. The snow-bound days 
pictured by Whittier in his charming idyl are no longer fre- 




Mud-stuck Days are Still a Reality 



quent occurrences, but less poetic, mud-stuck days are still a 
reality. 

Another factor of this isolation not to be disregarded is the 
fact that the farm home is almost complete in itself. Farmers 
produce their own food supply and can exist for days wholly 
cut off from their fellow-men. In case of severe storms or 
impassable roads, this state of existence may be continued 



6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

for weeks, especially by women, and some families, unfor- 
tunately, are willing to tolerate a semi-exclusive mode of life 
even when circumstances become more favorable. Physical 
isolation and the economic independence of the farm home are 
thus two fundamental causes of social isolation which, in turn, 
results in conditions making the farm situation, as a whole, 
problematic. The effects of social isolation in country life are 
manifested in various ways. 

The well-known conservative attitude of farmers on all 
new undertakings is the most noticeable of these. When not 
carried too far, this tendency is commendable as an attribute 
of sane level-headedness, but unfortunately it often runs to 
extreme lengths in a tenacious hold upon outgrown ideas. 
Conservatism among farmers is well illustrated by the hesi- 
tancy with which suggestions for the improvement of the coun- 
try school are often received. A change in the program, text- 
books, or furniture, unless tactfully brought about, sometimes 
excites the opposition of the whole community. That such 
conditions exist, however, is not surprising. All the natural 
forces of country life — seed-time and harvest, seasonal change, 
and the annual cycle — tend toward quiet and routine, and so 
impress themselves upon the sub-consciousness of a people 
governed by them that their control cannot fail to influence 
character. On the other hand, isolation encourages the farmer 
toward a habit of deep and independent thought and has pro- 
duced some of our most gifted thinkers. 

A second result of the social isolation of the farm is mani- 
fested in an intense radicalism that occasionally sweeps 
through farm circles. No better illustration of this para- 
doxical outgrowth can be cited than the early interest mani- 
fested in the Grange some forty years ago. This organiza- 
tion was first taken up as a financial craze, and enthusiastic 
farmers, cutting loose from all moorings of precedent and 
caution, expected to sail forth on a wave of prosperity 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 7 

founded upon implement houses, sugar mills, and whole- 
sale combines. 

The tendency toward neighborhood strife is a third accom- 
paniment of rural isolation. Scarcely a farm telephone sys- 
tem in the country has been installed without provoking 
local friction. Rural jealousy and the strong inclination 
toward indiscreet gossip are accountable for many of the 
unhappy relations existing in some communities. In more 
barbarous and primitive settlements this tendency is easily 
recognized, as in the long-standing feuds of mountain regions. 

Another outgrowth of these conditions is the existing, though 
much exaggerated, provincialism of farmers. Since the instal- 
lation of telephones, the rural delivery of mail, and improved 
methods of transportation have so revolutionized country life, 
this tendency is fast disappearing. Conditions that once mer- 
ited the appellations of "back-woods," "hayseed," and "coun- 
try," have vanished along with the moss-back farmer in blue 
overalls and slouch hat. That provincialism does still exist, 
however, is true. And nowhere is it felt more keenly than in 
the religious attitude of some farm communities. The feel- 
ing often manifested toward the teaching of such common 
scientific theories as evolution is an indication of this pro- 
verbial "narrow-mindedness." 

A fifth and most far-reaching effect of the social isolation 
of country life is the lack of organization among farmers, with 
an accompanying scarcity of leaders. This is the chief cause 
of the failure of farm life in so far as it has failed. There 
is little organized procedure in the country. Rural progress 
for the most part is accidental development rather than con- 
stant, purposeful, and steady growth. More attention will be 
given to the seriousness of this condition later. 

Solution of the Farm Problem. The solution of the farm 
problem — that is, the holding of a standard class of people 
upon the land — will be accomplished only when country life is 



8 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



made adequately and permanently satisfying. Partial satisfac- 
tion, even financial prosperity, does not suffice. The wealth- 
iest agricultural states show even greater rural depletion dur- 
ing the last decade than poorer sections. In Illinois, which 
ranks first in farm values, rural population decreased in sixty- 
eight counties between 
1900 and 1910. In 
Iowa, the total rural 
population decreased 
seven per cent during 
the same period. A 
significant aspect of 
this shifting of farm- 
ers is the rapid 
growth of tenantry 
and landlordism. For- 
ty per cent of the 
farms in the United 
States are now oper- 
ated by tenants. De- 
serted churches, poor 
schools, broken com- 
munities, and ofttimes 
poor farming, all de- 
clare the evils of this 
system. But it is not 
possible to discuss so 
large an issue here. 
Suffice it to say that no satisfying rural civilization throughout 
the history of agriculture has ever been constructed upon a 
system of tenantry and landlordism. The cornerstone of every 
successful rural social order is that land shall be tilled by those 
who own and cherish it. It is therefore apparent at the outset 
that solving the farm problem means holding land owners in 




An Abandoned Country Church 

Located in a tenant community in Illinois. 
Tnere are twenty-one other deserted country 
churches in the same county. Average value 
of land, $250 per acre 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 9 

the country. To do this it is necessary to make country life as 
satisfying as that of the town or city. That this can be done 
is exemplified in many country neighborhoods, but nowhere 
better than in the Clear Creek community in Putnam County, 
Illinois, which will be cited here for purposes of illustration. 

Country Community Building. In this community there 
is no dissatisfaction, no moving to town, and practically no 
rural problem, as herein defined. The people of the Clear 
Creek neighborhood, with but two or three exceptions, are all 
land owners, each man owning only what land he can per- 
sonally operate, usually from eighty to one hundred sixty 
acres. All are economically prosperous because scientific 
farming is the rule. The homes of the community, though by 
no means magnificent, are comfortable and attractive, and, 
like the farms, carefully planned and scientifically managed. 
But the distinguishing feature of this neighborhood, the mag- 
net that draws and holds contentedly about it some of the most 
capable men and women in the state, is a well-defined and 
roundly-developed community center consisting, of a consoli- 
dated school, a Grange, and a church. 

This school with its beautiful wooded grounds of twenty- 
four acres, its commodious, well equipped building, its well 
trained teaching force, and its excellent course of study worked 
out in terms of country life and affording instruction through 
an accredited high school, has attracted the attention of edu- 
cators and country life workers throughout the United States. 
A fuller account of its equipment and work is given in Chapter 
VIII. All that need be said here is that the John Swaney 
Consolidated School, to quote a committee of the National 
Education Association, "is probably the most ideal country 
school in the United States." 

Within a few rods of the school building stands the Grange 
hall, where twice a month for the past forty years Clear Creek 
people have met for social and educational purposes and have 



IO COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

discussed questions of agriculture and country life. 1 To the 
dominating influence of the Grange more than to any other 
single force is due the progress that marks this community. 
Grange influence has "developed leadership, has sustained a 
high idealism of personal integrity and social responsibility, 
and above all, has fostered the spirit of cooperation through 
which this idealism has been worked out and made tangible for 
community benefit. 

But the highest expression of personal and social idealism 
in the Clear Creek neighborhood is found in the little plain 
"meeting-house." This church of early Quaker establishment 
is a true community institution, demanding neither creeds nor 
doctrines and preaching religion in terms of country life. All 
who seek fellowship with God through magnifying the God- 
ship of men and cherishing "the worth of the native earth" 
are welcomed to its membership. 

From this and similarly successful instances it is evident 
that country life can be made satisfying, but that permanent 
rural satisfaction comes only through the harmonious upbuild- 
ing of the country community. Good schools, churches, effi- 
cient labor, social advantages, and all the attractions that draw 
farmers to the town or city are the result of community effort. 
The city, it is commonly agreed, has outstripped the country. 
In the last analysis this predominance is due chiefly to the 
greater degree of social-consciousness, or community-minded- 
ness, among city dwellers. Farmers as a class are intensely 
individualistic. As a consequence their communities are 
usually poorly developed and sustain fewer and weaker social 
institutions than are found in cities. Here lies the crux of the 
whole rural situation. Hence the significance of the com- 
munity idea in country life. 

Cooperation the Keynote in the Solution of the Farm 
Problem. Community building requires cooperation. If 

1 For a fuller account of this Grange see Chapter IV. 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 



II 



the community idea expresses the dominating need for the 
reconstruction of country life, cooperation, as most students 
of rural social life concede, then becomes the keynote in the 
solution of the farm problem. Efficient social institutions and 
the other satisfactions of modern life which draw country 




Friends' Church, Clear Creek Community, Putnam County, Illinois 

This church with a consolidated school and a Grange constitutes a strong 
community center 



people to towns are the results of cooperative effort. To bring 
these satisfactions to the country, farmers must put aside small 
differences, overcome their excessive individualism, and con- 
sistently work together for the highest good of the com- 
munity. 

Cooperation as used here implies four fundamental social 



12 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

forces 1 which must become operative in the construction of 
every community. These are (a) education, (b) socialization, 
(c) organization, and (d) idealism. 

Agencies for the Upbuilding of the Country Community. 
As mediums of cooperation for setting these forces in mo- 
tion appropriate agencies are available in the country com- 
munity. These agencies may be roughly classified into two 
types : rural social institutions, and material means of rural 
socialization. Chief among the institutions serving this end 
are (a) the home, (b) the state, (c) the church, (d) the 
farm organization, and (e) the school. Among the material 
means of rural socialization may be cited telephones, mail de- 
livery, electric car lines, and especially roads, which have a 
tremendous influence upon rural progress and happiness. The 
reconstruction of the country community must therefore begin 
with the redirection and regeneration of these institutions 
upon which community welfare depends. 

Chief Functions and Needs of Rural Social Institutions. 
The initial step in the regeneration of rural social institutions 
is to determine their chief functions and needs. In this attempt 
the following brief statement, based largely upon President 
Butterfield's analysis, is offered: 

Home and family. The home as the fundamental institu- 
tion of society is always of first importance. Its primary func- 
tion is to provide proper nurture for the young. A secondary 
function of the home, now too rapidly disappearing, is its 
share in the education of children. These functions are better 
fulfilled by the country home than by the town or city home, 
though much improvement is still possible in both. The chief 
needs of the country home from the community point of view 
are: (i) vocational education on the part of women, affording 
training in home making; (2) the participation of women in 

1 See Butterfield's The Country Church and the Rural Problem, 
Chapter II. 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 



13 



community activities and outside affairs; and (3) the decrease 
of household labor so that some of the time and strength 
of women may be devoted to community work/ A fuller 
discussion of this theme is given in the succeeding chapter. 

State and government. The chief function of the state in 
upbuilding the local country community is to insure legisla- 
tive protection by making and enforcing appropriate laws, 
and to render industrial aid and class service, as in the main- 
tenance of state boards of agriculture, highway departments, 
and agricultural extension work. The most pressing needs in 
this line as revealed within the immediate farm locality are 
for more just and equitable legislation and an increased feeling 
of civic responsibility on the part of farmers. In this con- 
nection it should be acknowledged that for the injustice that 
obtains in this field farmers have themselves chiefly to blame. 
Only when countrymen make proper and effective use of the 
ballot will rural interests receive due legislative attention. 

Church. "The church," according to President Butterfield, 
"touches the highest point in the redirection of rural life," its 
function being "to perpetuate religious idealism in personal, 
family, and community life." A primary need of the church 
for realizing this large responsibility is to gain the com- 
munity attitude. By this is meant service and a feeling of 
responsibility for all in the community rather than for a select 
following of members. Other important needs of the country 
church are the application of the principle of federation and an 
interpretation of religion in terms of agriculture. Further ref- 
erence will be made to these points in a later chapter. 

Voluntary farm organisation. Under this heading are in- 
cluded farmers' institutes, granges, farmers' clubs, business 
cooperations, and all other organizations initiated by farmers. 
The chief common function of these voluntary associations is 
to conserve class power. Organizations of this type are good 
or bad, according as their motives lead to the selfish or the 



I 4 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

altruistic conservation of class power. A fundamental need of 
most voluntary farm organizations is for the community atti- 
tude. Both the farmers' institute and the Grange illustrate 
this need. The farmers' institute does not generally appre- 
ciate the significance of the social side of farm life, while the 
Grange usually seeks to serve merely its own membership 
rather than all who live in the community. A second special 
need bearing upon the success of voluntary farm organiza- 
tions is for increased publicity and attention. The farmers' 
institute reaches but one farmer out of twenty-five, while thou- 
sands of country people have never heard of the Grange. 

School. The primary function of the school is education. 
But since "all difficulties," according to the Country Life Com- 
mission, "resolve themselves in the end into a question of 
education," it follows as a logical corollary that the school 
may serve as a chief immediate agency for upbuilding the 
country community and making country life satisfying. The 
peculiar advantages and needs of the school for institutional 
leadership to this end will constitute the basis of a later 
chapter. (See Chapter VII.) It should be clear at this point, 
however, that the school can inaugurate progress through other 
institutions and along various lines. Through a proper atti- 
tude and efficient teaching the school can induce farmers' insti- 
tute attendance, can help establish granges and farmers' clubs, 
start campaigns for road improvement, impress the necessity 
of a scientific agriculture, and even promote a broader and 
more effective religion. It can, in brief, educate, socialize, 
organize, and idealize, thus setting in motion the four 
fundamental social forces of the rural community. 

Overlapping of Agencies in Function and Effort. From 
the preceding analysis it is apparent that no one institution 
expresses a particular or single social force, but that all over- 
lap in function and effort and participate more or less fully 
in the processes of educating, socializing, organizing, and 



mr/ety tests 

OF 

GRJI/VS, 
FORAGE CROPS 

FOOT CROPS 




/sr YEA ff- CORN 




Zm » -GRAIN 




3*o » -CLOVER 




A 


VlA 


/srYEAR- GRAIN 




2nd » -CLOVER 




3 so » -CORN 




B 


V?A 


IsrYEAR- CLOVER 




2m » -CORN 




3*o » - GRAIN 




c AjV a . 


VlAr 


T&i*MIXEO FOREST PL01 


b^V 



79MSV //,«/ 

PUBL/C X0/1D 




Diagram of a Country Community Center 

Including school, church, town hall, and industrial plant. Reproduced here 
from Circular 84, Office of Experiment Stations 



16 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

idealizing. This duplication and overlapping necessitates a 
working harmony among the different social agencies of the 
country community. To promote this spirit of harmony the 
federative idea must be applied. 

Federation of Community Agencies. By federation is 
meant the cooperation and concerted action of rural social 
agencies for community progress. Such cooperation on the 
part of rural institutions and forces is desirable not only 
because of their functional overlapping but because of the 
unity and magnitude of the rural problem. As already shown, 
the farm problem is one of many aspects dealing with the 
whole life of a social group and consequently requiring varied 
viewpoints. No one institution can do all. The church, the 
school, the home, the farmers' organization — each has a special 
task which no other agency can perform equally well. For 
this reason the work-share of each institution should be care- 
fully defined and individual programs of action developed. 
This necessitates the getting-together, or federation, of com- 
munity agencies and country life workers. Every division of 
territory, including not only the local community and the 
township, but the county, the state, and even the nation, per- 
haps, may well inaugurate the federative idea and hold occa- 
sional conferences on country life in which the viewpoints of 
the school, church, Grange, farmers' institute, business organ- 
ization, road association, and all other rural agencies are repre- 
sented. The great need is for workers and institutions which 
see the whole problem, and in this way only can a complete 
vision be gained. This book is chiefly an attempt to inculcate 
the federative idea into the country school and to show country 
teachers their relation to other fields. Further reference to the 
development of the federation movement is made in the last 
chapter. 

Platform. To summarize briefly and forecast the trend 



THE FARM PROBLEM AND ITS SOLUTION 17 

and contribution of this volume, the following platform for 
the improvement of country life is offered : 

The fundamental problem of country life is the problem 
of keeping a standard people upon our farms. 

The solution of this problem is to be realized through making 
country life adequately and permanently satisfying. 

Country life can be made adequately satisfying only through 
the upbuilding of the country community. To solve the farm 
problem attention must therefore be directed to community 
building. 

The chief agencies for community building are the home, the 
state, the church, the farm organization, and the school. 

Of these, the school, because it is the agency of education, 
and because the whole farm problem is largely a matter of 
education, is best fitted for immediate institutional leadership, 
and most capable of initiating rural social progress. The 
school, in other zvords, makes the best and most generally 
available center for the upbuilding of the country community, 

In realizing this opportunity the school is confronted by 
several vital needs. The chief of these are a reorganization 
of the rural educational system upon the principle of consoli- 
dation, and, above all, well and specially trained teachers. 

A most direct attack upon the country life problem may 
therefore be made through the preparation of teachers for 
country school service. 

Succeeding chapters will deal, first, with the most impor- 
tant social institutions and agencies of the local rural com- 
munity, and, later, with some particular social aspects and 
needs of the country school. 



CHAPTER II 
THE FARM HOME 

The Farm Home as an Agency for Country Life 
Progress. Though the school, as just stated, may be the 
most influential agency working toward the upbuilding of farm 
life, the home, as the foundational institution of society, is 
evidently the most fundamental/ Even in the city, where the 
complexity of life has robbed it of many of its primal func- 
tions, the home is still preeminent. In the country this is 
especially true. The farm home is the center of all interests; 
it is the heart of the whole farm. Vocationally, this is neces- 
sarily so. Though much has gone from it in recent years, 
the farm home is still more complete in an industrial sense 
than any other institution of our modern social order. For 
many of the actual necessities of life it is practically self- 
sustaining. But this industrial self -sufficiency of the farm 
home has submerged its social limitations. It has perpetu- 
ated influences both good and bad, making farmers as a class 
not only independent and self-reliant but often conservative 
and narrow. Above all, it has fostered, in many cases, an 
unfortunate type of isolated, unsocial existence, resulting in 
unfavorable conditions which it will require years of earnest 
effort to alleviate. 

But socially, also, though less apparent, the farm home is 
the focus of interest. All social movements in any way re- 
lated to the welfare of country living must be rooted in the 
home. Its problems are all-inclusive. The school, the church, 
the Grange, and the farmers' institute, to gain life and perma- 

13 



THE FARM HOME 19 

nency, must establish vital connections with it and consider 
its particular problems. The home, in other words, absorbs 
the efforts of all other socializing agencies and redirects these 
efforts into the lives of those for whom it is maintained. The 
influence of home life upon children is especially significant in 
this connection. The tendencies and ideals of thought and 
action acquired in the home during early childhood never 
quite forsake an individual. "There can be found no better 
nursery for the ideal of social progress," says Mrs. Ellen H. 
Richards, "than the home life of the farm." The question to 
be considered here, then, is the determination of the efficiency 
of the farm home as an agency for social progress. Are the 
majority of farm homes as good nurseries for such progress 
as they may become? If not, what can be done to make 
them so? 

Present Conditions in Farm Homes. For the purpose of 
this discussion farm homes may be divided into three classes : 
average, ideal, and inferior. 

Average farm homes. Undoubtedly, taken as a class, no 
homes contribute more to the vigor and wholesomeness of our 
national life than our farm homes. Nevertheless it is well 
for farmers, and all others, to recognize that vast improve- 
ment can be made in the present order of country living, and 
that the majority of farm homes will bear much further study. 
This study must begin on the physical side. Only through cor- 
recting the inconveniences of the farmhouse, using labor 
saving machinery, and instituting a better system of household 
management, can the country housewife further the higher 
interests of her family, and promote that idealism which char- 
acterizes true home-making. 

The majority of farmhouses are poorly planned. The whole 
general plan of the house in many cases is faulty, and the 
furniture is poorly selected and arranged. The kitchen, being 
the workshop of the house, should receive special attention 



20 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



in planning, but in most farmhouses it is particularly incon- 
venient. Often one large room, that might better be made into 
two, serves the purposes of both dining-room and kitchen. Fre- 
quently there is no sink or other provision for running water. 
Usually all the cooking, even in summer, is done over a big, 
hot range. The living-room and the bedrooms also might 
often be made far more labor-saving. The heavy car- 




An Ideal Farm Home 



pets, curtains, and draperies with which these rooms are 
usually furnished in country houses are not only unsanitary 
but labor-producing. Frequently the lack of sufficient light 
and air throughout the house breeds moths, pests, and dis- 
ease, and adds to the work of the housekeeper. All these 
inconveniences add hours of drudgery to the work of country 
women and consume time that might otherwise be spent in 
enjoying some of the richer and more permanent experiences 
of life. 



THE FARM HOME 21 

Sanitation demands far more attention also. The most 
harmful of the unsanitary practices perpetuated upon the farm 
surround the house where conditions for healthful living 
should be most favorable. Kitchen waste is often allowed to 
stand near the door in ill-smelling receptacles; back yards 
are poorly kept; and flies infest the house, polluting food in 
a most dangerous way. Dust-catching furnishings are still 
too common and the disease-breeding properties of dust too 
little heeded. Sanitary bathrooms with modern conveniences 
are not yet found in the majority of farmhouses, and conse- 
quently standards of personal cleanliness are lowered. In 
many homes a tightly barricaded parlor is guardedly cher- 
ished at the sacrifice of a bathroom, and it is evident that 
the question of relative values, as well as that of money, 
becomes a factor in the reconstruction of farmhouses. Out- 
side sanitary neglect of the whole farm further complicates 
the problem of household sanitation in the country. Barns 
are frequently too close to the house and their improper 
care is conducive to the breeding of flies. Outdoor toilets are 
at best repulsive things, and general neglect makes them one 
of the most serious sanitary problems of the farm. Wells, 
unless rigidly guarded, are often found to be absorbing the 
impurities of underground drainage, while swampy land, open 
rain barrels, and standing pools that are never kerosened, 
form excellent incubators for mosquitoes. The too-common 
practice of feeding carcasses to hogs and of leaving dead 
animals unburied is another most revolting and unnecessary 
infringement upon the laws of public sanitation and health. 

But of all neglect about the farm home none is more inex- 
cusable than poor ventilation. It would seem that in the 
country, where God's whole out-of-doors calls to man, no 
blessing could be so persistently rejected as are air and sun- 
shine in many rural households. Among farmers, in this 
case as in several others, reform is entering through the barn 



22 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

door, and after dairy cows and horses are well provided for, 
attention will be shifted to the house and its inmates, and 
eventually some one will remember the country school. 1 

Social, educational, and cultural conditions, which for con- 
venience will be grouped here under the general term spiritual- 
ising influences, have also improved greatly in farm homes 
during the last decade, but are even yet far from what might 
be enjoyed. There are still too many homes where the 
local newspaper represents the chief literary contact with the 
world; where neighborhood gossip, petty if not malicious, is 
the chief topic of conversation; and where the questionable 
party or dance and the Saturday trip to town represent the 
usual social diversions. In too many farm homes, even in this 
day of rich and varied opportunity, money is the god of life 
and drudgery its constant companion. 

Ideal farm homes. The country home shown here as a 
type of the ideal farm home happens to be located in Illinois, 
but its counterpart may be seen in any good agricultural 
section. Architecturally this house is well planned and con- 
veniently arranged. This is owing to the fact that the farmer 
and his wife planned it themselves, basing their demands upon 
personal experience and the laws of science. The new build- 
ing material, concrete, which is probably destined to cause 
many reforms in farm construction during the next few 
years, has been used for the walls of the house. Particular 
care has been taken to keep the exterior appearance simple 
and in harmony with its natural setting and the purpose for 
which a farmhouse is designed. The general plan of the 
house shows the highest degree of thoughtfulness and care. 

1 Professor E. H. King of the State Agricultural College, Madison, 
Wisconsin, has issued a little book treating this vital question of ven- 
tilation for dwelling-houses, barns, and schoolhouses, which should 
be placed in every country school library, and might be read with 
profit by every member of the farmer's family. For publishers and 
cost see bibliography of this book, Section 4. 



THE FARM HOME 23 

Not only matters of convenience but those of art and beauty, 
as applied through interior finish and decoration, have received 
special consideration. Telephones, gas lights, and running 
water, city conveniences that have come to the country and 
come to stay, add the finishing touches to this beautiful country 
home. 

The same thought and study manifested in the planning 
of this house can be traced in the arrangement of the 
grounds and the general management of the whole farm. 
The yard is large, but simply planted and well kept. Fields, 
barns, barn-lots, and farm buildings all show the expedient 
control of science, while mowed roads and trimmed hedges 
suggest an innate love of respectability and order in the make- 
up of the farmer. The point of emphasis in the study of 
this particular home, however, is the fact that the farmer and 
his wife are self-educated, having lived their youth before the 
days of special training, and that all this richness and fulness 
of life are maintained on a quarter section of land. True, the 
land is very productive, but much of its fertility is owing to 
scientific control. The possibilities of applied science in Amer- 
ican agriculture are scarcely realized yet even in dreams. 

Inferior farm homes. Standing in sharp contrast to 
farm homes of the average and ideal types are the inferior 
homes. These are to be found here and there in every com- 
munity, no matter how progressive, and their number is very 
much larger than commonly thought. Such homes are not 
often found among land-owners, but rather among the more 
shiftless class of tenants and in the overflow of humanity on 
the outskirts of cities and large towns. They are to the 
country what tenements are to the city, and their lot is appeal- 
ingly pitiful since land values have gone so high. Their pres- 
ence suggests "the country slum" sometimes mentioned in 
recent literature, and the hopeless despondency and fatalism 
of country life is nowhere more apparent than within their 



24 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



walls. Though not, in most cases, a product of rural forces 
alone, nor particularly characteristic of country life, the 
responsibility for the care of these homes is upon rural social 
institutions and rests most heavily upon the school. Among 
farmers little personal charity is tolerated, but it is time, 
nevertheless, for more decided action for the betterment of 
this element of the rural population. The whole problem of 




An Inferior Farm Home 

A rented farm, the owner living in a city forty miles away. 

$250 per acre 



Land valued at 



such improvement, however, is based largely upon the adjust- 
ment of the farm labor problem, which cannot be further 
discussed here. 

The Improvement of Farm Home Life. The immediate 
need for the improvement of farm home life is for the better 
control and decrease of household labor. This in turn calls 
for the better planning and reconstruction of farmhouses and 



THE FARM HOME 



25 



the vocational education of country women. In this way 
only can the time and energy of farmers' wives be conserved 
for participation in community affairs and the spiritualization 
of home life. Household drudgery is unquestionably the chief 
cause of any lack of idealism and social-mindedness among 
country women. Four important needs for the improvement 
of farm home life suggested here, then, are as follows : 

1. The decrease of household labor as effected through 
the remodeling of farmhouses, the use of labor-saving ma- 
chinery, and the practice of an improved system of household 
management. 

2. The vocational education of farm women, preparing for 
home-making in its fullest sense. 

3. The participation of country women in community 
affairs. 

4. The spiritualizing and idealizing of farm home life. 

The Decrease of Household Labor. The necessity of re- 
ducing drudgery in the farm home cannot be too strongly 
emphasized. No other single issue has more bearing upon 
rural depletion and the general farm problem. The difficulty 
here, however, is not so much a matter of decreasing the 
quantity of labor, since this cannot be done beyond a certain 
limit, as of securing increased returns from the amount of 
energy expended. In this connection the remodeling of farm- 
houses requires much attention. This subject cannot be treated 
in detail in a book of this character. 1 But from common 
observation it is evident that farmhouses can often be so 
rearranged and refurnished that the saving of time and drudg- 
ery thus made possible will bring about a revolution in the 
character of the home life. The possibilities of farmhouse 
architecture to this end are well revealed in the following quo- 

1 The remodeling of an old-fashioned farm house has been well 
worked out by a farmer's wife and described in a little book, The 
Healthful Farmhouse, which is listed in the bibliography of this book, 
Section 4. 



26 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

tations from an address by Dean L. H. Bailey, given before 
the students of Cornell Agricultural College in 19 10. 

What a farm residence should be. By way of concrete suggestions, 
I will throw my statements into classified paragraphs. These sugges- 
tions apply to common farmhouses, rather than to the estates of 
country gentlemen. 

(a) The farm residence should fit the farm country. The house 
should be broad and low rather than narrow and tall. We need a 
type of farm architecture that seems to grow out of farming condi- 
tions. That is, the structure must look like a farmhouse rather than 
like a townhouse. 

(b) The house should be very simple in its general plan and con- 
struction. This is true of all houses, but particularly of country houses. 
The farmhouse should be condensed, whether it is large or small. The 
beauty of a building lies not in its external ornamentation, but in its 
proportions, its fitness to conditions, and in the materials of which it is 
constructed. 

(c) The ordinary farmhouse should have a very simple roof scheme, 
with as few valleys and peaks and flashings as possible. The beauty of 
the house should lie in its dignified and simple sky lines rather than in 
its complex and broken features. 

(d) The house should be planned to save steps to the utmost. The 
kitchen, dining-room, woodshed, and cellar should all be within easy 
reach of one another. So far as possible, the rooms that are daily 
used together or between which there is very much travel, particularly 
on the part of the housewife, should be on the same floor, with no 
steps up and down. We should so plan a house that the woman may be 
able to save much of her energy for other activities than merely those 
of housekeeping. 

(e) The house should be so planned and made that it can be easily 
cleaned. This means an absence of all elaborate spindle work, filigree, 
and also of heavy and upholstered hangings in the furnishings. Now 
that we are appreciating the relation of dust to health, we must take 
a new attitude toward the construction and the furnishing of residences. 

(f) The house should be constructed or remodeled with the idea of 
applying power to some of the household work, as to the laundry, 
pumping, eventually to the cleaning of the rooms, and to other labor. 
We have been applying power to the work of the farm and the barn, 
but we have not adapted it to any great extent to the work of the 
house itself, 



THE FARM HOME 



27 



(g) Every modern house should have water running into it and out 
of it. Within twenty-five years every good farm residence, and even 
many tenant houses, will be as well provided with water supply facili- 
ties as are city houses. 




Office in a Farm Home 

When fanning is regarded and managed as a business industry, offices will be 
common in farmhouses 



(h) The ordinary farmhouse must be planned in such a way that the 
members of the family can do the housework. I am sure that in many 
cases it is possible to reduce the work of keeping house by at least 
one-quarter or even one-third if the house plan is carefully studied 
with this idea in mind. 



28 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

(i) You all know that most of the unexpected visitors to a farm- 
house go to the back door or side door. This means that the back of 
the house is to be as highly developed in some respects as the front. 
Perhaps it will mean in the end that there really is no "back" to the 
house at all, and that the establishment shall "face" all ways and have 
no unkept back yard. 

(j) The house must be provided with ample storage space. Gro- 
ceries are often bought in quantity. The winter's supplies are "put 
down" in the cellar. Ordinarily, the larger part of this storage is in 
the cellar or the attic. This necessitates many steps. It is a question 
whether a good deal of this material would not better be stored on the 
first floor with a place specially designed for it, like an enlarged closet. 

(k) The first floor and the cellar are the centers of the family activ- 
ity. The members of the family spend much of their time out of doors. 
This means that the first floor should not be approached by high steps 
from the outside, and also that washrooms and other service rooms 
should be on this floor and easy of access, and preferably near the 
farm-side entrance. 

(1) When additions are placed on an old house, care should be taken 
to have them match the style of the original. If left to the whim of 
the ordinary carpenter, additions to residences are not likely to present 
a suitable appearance. 

The use of labor-saving machinery in farmhouses is now so 
fully discussed on every hand that extended comment here 
is unnecessary. But the opportunity thus afforded of refer- 
ring to some sources of information on this point will be 
improved. A recent bulletin of the Department of Agricul- 
ture, entitled Modern Conveniences for the Farm Home, and 
another, entitled Possibilities of the Country Home, written by 
Mrs. Eugene Davenport, of Urbana, Illinois, from whom it 
may be procured, should be in the possession of every farm 
housewife. Both contain helpful advice concerning the best 
and latest farmhouse appliances. Of all literature yet issued 
upon the farm home, however, none is more valuable than 
the series of bulletins for farmers' wives put out by the 
Cornell College of Agriculture at Ithaca, New York. The only 



THE FARM HOME 29 

regret concerning this splendid series is that they are restricted 
in distribution to the' state of New York. 

A more efficient system of household management is another 
important factor in decreasing the labor of farm homes. In 
the last analysis this reform is largely a matter of relative 
values and of scientific training. It takes a clear vision, capable 
of seeing beyond the four walls of the kitchen, to determine 
what things are most worth while, what things can be half 
done, and what things can be left undone ; but such an appre- 
ciation of relative values is positively necessary to progress and 
to the happiness of farm women. 

A chief difficulty of the farm home, likely suggested before 
now by those most familiar with the real situation, is the 
present scarcity of domestic help. No panacea for this trial 
has as yet been found, but in this connection the suggestion 
of the Commission on Country Life is worthy of attention. 
This looks to the establishment of cooperative community plants 
to which many domestic labors, especially those of canning, 
laundering, and possibly baking, may be relegated. The fact 
that hundreds of cooperative creameries are already estab- 
lished and satisfactorily disposing of the milk question seems 
to indicate large possibilities in the future development of 
this idea. 

Vocational Education for Country Women. This is essen- 
tial as the basis of all progress within the farm home. Coun- 
try women must know more of the science of the great task 
to which they devote their lives before much can be expected 
in the way of progress, even as the men must know more of 
the science of agriculture before marked developments can be 
realized in the cultivation of the soil. This knowledge should 
include not only house sanitation, decoration, cookery, and 
house management, but child-study, physiology, and some 
sociology and economics. The mother who knows only how 



30 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



to feed her children is but partially prepared for her duties, 
and it is desirable that colleges of household arts come to 
realize this still more fully than at present. For country 
women, farmers' institutes and the "short courses" of agri- 
cultural colleges now offer some opportunity in this field of 
special education. But even these advantages are not always 
sufficiently appreciated. Inducing farm women to avail them- 
selves of these opportunities is a significant field of influence 
for the capable country teacher. 



£%*V s fc5 






Home Makers' School, University of Illinois, Urbana 

The Participation of Farm Women in Community Affairs. 
Farm home life can never be sufficiently broadening until 
country women take a larger part in community affairs. 
If the home, as has been said, is to become a nursery for 
inculcating ideals of social progress, it must be directed by 
women who themselves possess these ideals. Such social par- 
ticipation will prove beneficial not only to children in the 
home but to country women themselves. Furthermore, it is 
essential to community welfare. The point of view of women 
is needed upon every question of community improvement and 
especially upon matters of educational and social relationship. 
The growing custom of putting women upon school boards 



THE FARM HOME 



31 



should be encouraged in both country and city, and women 
everywhere should realize their responsibility in this direc- 
tion sufficiently to master the feeling of reticence which often 
withholds them from such service. Professor Bailey in his 
recent book, The Country Life Movement, speaks as follows 
of woman's contribution to community progress: "On the 
women depend to a greater degree than we realize the nature 
and extent of the movement for a better country life, wholly 
aside from their personal influence as members of families. 
Farming is a co-partnership business. It follows, then, that if 
the farming business is to contribute to the redirection of 
country life, the woman has responsibilities as well as the 
man." 

The Spiritualizing of Farm Home Life. The spiritualized 
life of any home is the only true measure of its worth. All 
things should be made to contribute to this end. Immaculate 
housekeeping and household slavery are now understood not to 
be real home-making. The paramount problem in home im- 
provement is ever this question of its spiritualization. When 
houses are more convenient and relative values in housekeep- 
ing better understood, the spiritualization of farm home life 
will follow naturally. A further general solution to this 
problem may be formulated by saying that it is to be solved 
through the development of a greater appreciation of prac- 
tical possibilities. By this is meant embracing present possi- 
bilities as they may be met with better management and more 
wisely directed energy, not developing possibilities that require 
a large outlay of time, and money, and strength. This can 
be partially accomplished : 

1. By acquiring increased scientific knowledge of home- 
making, as has been shown above. Only in this way can 
women appreciate the dignity, difficulty, and significance of 
what may otherwise seem a monotonous task. 

2. By overcoming the existing tendency toward fatalism. 



32 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

A peculiar fatalistic attitude of mind affects all farm people. 
Mrs. Ellen H. Richards in her article on the farm home in 
the Cyclopedia of Agriculture traces the cause of this tend- 
ency to the control of nature. But whatever the source may 
be, that such an influence does exist is plainly evident, par- 
ticularly in the more barren farm homes. For this fatalism 
must be substituted what some one has termed "the courage 
of science." This and the spiritualization of the common- 
place seem to afford the only immediate relief. 

3. Through a better system of household management. 
This remedy has been briefly discussed above. Without fur- 
ther elaboration it may be re-stated that farmers' wives can 
do little spiritualizing until they have found some method of 
reducing the drain upon their time and strength, and, as a 
variable factor in this direction, household management should 
receive due attention. 

4. Through enlarged opportunities for social, educational, 
and cultural improvement. These include all influences that 
broaden and sweeten life. Light, cheer, music, literature, pic- 
tures, conversation, and recreation, can all be made to con- 
tribute to this end. The necessity for better lighting facilities 
for the farm home needs special emphasis in this connection. 
Children naturally love light and beauty, and mothers would 
do well to remember that with the average boy a brightly 
lighted home will stand the competition of street lights in 
the nearest town far better than a dark and cheerless one. 
In this day of inexpensive production, every home, especially 
where there are children, should possess a musical instru- 
ment. Nothing is more restful than music, and even the simple 
little tunes played by the schoolgirl add harmony to the daily 
routine. 

Art, also, should be made to contribute more to the 
spiritualizing influence of the farm home. Good copies of 
the masterpieces of art are now so inexpensive that there 



THE FARM HOME 



33 



is no excuse for the gaudy calendars and enlarged photo- 
graphs so often found in the living-rooms of country houses. 1 
Literature is perhaps the most spiritualizing influence of the 
average farm home, but much of the reading done in the 
country is of a desultory character. Too little attention is 
given to the upbuilding of systematically planned libraries. 
Books are often indiscriminately purchased from agents or at 
bargain counters and are carelessly thrown about the house 
until lost or worn out. A good library, one that means any- 
thing to its owner, is the product of years of development, 
and the fact that additions must be made slowly is in no 
sense a matter for discouragement. 

Outside the home, spiritualizing stimulation may be found 
in all the social, educational, and cultural influences of the 
school, the church, the Grange, and other social agencies 
designed to promote the common welfare. These are dis- 
cussed in later chapters. Travel, also, should be mentioned 
in this connection because of the cultivation of world interests 
it engenders. 

The Farm Home as the Center of Rural Interests. That 
the home is the center of all interests is usually acknowledged 
by workers in other social institutions, at least in theory. 
Grange workers, farmers' institute directors, country teachers, 
and ministers will all declare that they are making the home 
the center of their efforts. Yet in practice these good people 
seem to lose connection and often fail to attain the desired 
end. This is especially evident in the case of the church and 
the school. Our country churches do not have more than a 
fraction of the influence over farm homes of the present gen- 
eration that they might exert, and rural schools are failing mis- 
erably in their lack of adaptation to the vocational and home 
needs of country children. 

1 For a list of pictures suitable for farm home decoration see the 
appendix of this book, Section 8. 



34 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The work of the Grange and the press for farm homes. 
Probably no agency has done more in its established field for 
the home than the Grange. A good grange revolutionizes the 
home life of a community. Probably none does less at pres- 
ent, except for the savoring grace of its former influence, 
than the church. The rural press is another agency that is 
failing to realize its opportunities in this line. Every farm 
paper, it is true, keeps up a semblance of home interests in a 
column or so devoted to "making housework easy" or to petty 
correspondence, but little is done to reach the heart of the 
farm housewife's problems, and it is time for the scientific 
and appreciative development of such interests through agri- 
cultural papers. 

Farmers' institutes and the improvement of country homes. 
Of all agencies now working toward the betterment of coun- 
try life, none have greater opportunity for improving home 
conditions than the farmers' institute and the country school. 
Yet in neither case are these agencies doing a tithe of what 
they might do. If they were, farm home conditions would 
be better than they are at present. 

Still, the farmers' institute as an organization is doing 
much for the country homes of America. Through its women's 
sections, women's institutes, and housekeepers' conferences 
it is conducting a home-educational campaign heretofore un- 
known in the history of agriculture. Only two or three sug- 
gestions for the enlargement of its activities along this line 
can be made here, but institute workers would soon see dozens 
if they but centered their attention upon this phase of their 
problem. 

In the first place, the farmers' institute, though fundamen- 
tally concerned with questions of agricultural science, might 
well give more time to the problems of the home. What atten- 
tion the institute does give to home improvement is chiefly sci- 
entific information on cookery and dietetics. This is well- 



THE FARM HOME 



35 



directed effort but it is not sufficient in either quantity or 
content. Longer sessions and more systematic instruction in 
household science, and in other subjects also, might be provided 
through short courses or movable schools, as described in the 
chapter on farmers' institutes. In addition to this, the institute 
should develop new phases of home study, especially those 
phases relating to child-study and to the community relations 
of farm women. 

As another effort at rural home improvement, the farmers' 
institute might in some way establish model farmhouses, or 
even model farms, for demonstration purposes. An under- 
taking of this character need not necessarily be expensive. 
The institute need not own the land. In every rural com- 
munity can be found some ambitious young farmer who 
has married and settled down on a piece of land which he 
expects to make a permanent home. If such a young couple 
had scientific advice and counsel from agricultural special- 
ists and extension workers, they would in most cases accept 
it gladly and profit by it. Visiting agents might be employed 
by the county or state organization of farmers' institutes to 
conduct this work. For the farmer, instruction in the care 
of stock, soil, and general farm management, would be neces- 
sary ; for the wife, instruction in house management, cookery, 
and the rearing of children. Reading would naturally play 
an important part in such a system, but its chief basis should 
be personal visits and advice from the specialists employed. 
In this way the farm and the farm home selected might easily 
be converted into a demonstration of local possibility. One 
experiment of this character in every three or four townships 
would be sufficiently local to attract the attention of all the 
farmers of a community. 

Improving the farm home through the country school. 
While it is hoped that what is said here, and in succeeding 
chapters, is sufficiently related to the real conditions of the 



36 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

country to prove of value to farmers and all others connected 
with country life, the chief concern of these pages, as sug- 
gested in the preface, is to assist country teachers by establish- 
ing a little more clearly the relation of the school to various 
other rural agencies. The connection between the school and 
the home is commonly acknowledged. So, too, is the responsi- 
bility of the homes of a community for the character of the 




Domestic Science in the Country School, Macon County, Illinois 

school maintained. The reciprocal responsibility of the school 
for the homes that support it is also acknowledged, but only 
remotely felt, and not yet realized. That the school, even the 
little ungraded district school, with all its limitations, can 
improve existing home conditions, however, in both a material 
and a spiritual way, is occasionally demonstrated by country 
teachers and is made the basis of this discussion. Naturally 
the influence of the school here as elsewhere must originate 
through the personal influence and energy of the teacher. 



THE FARM HOME 37 

Three ways are suggested by which the country teacher, work- 
ing through the agency of the school, may help to improve 
the farm home. 

First, through suggestion, sympathy, and personal influence, 
the teacher may incidentally impart a great deal of knowl- 
edge to the farm women of the community. To carry this 
information into any home is a delicate undertaking. It must 
be done by one who has worked her 1 way into the very lives 
of the people, and whose training, position, and understand- 
ing are a preparation for the task. Such a leader must not 
only sympathize with the difficulties of farm life, but must 
possess a great charitable affection for the humanity with 
which she works. The opportunity of the country teacher for 
leadership in rural progress is considered at some length in a 
later chapter. It must suffice to say here that no individual 
in rural life can come so close to the hearts of the people as a 
good teacher. Her affection and devotion to the community 
and its faith in her make possible the greatest conceivable 
degree of personal, local leadership. 

As a second attempt at cooperation with the home, the 
teacher may introduce an elementary course in household 
science into the school curriculum. Few country teachers are 
at present adequately prepared to do this work, but even 
untrained teachers can accomplish a great deal in the way of 
stimulating thought and centering attention upon the problems 
of the home. Such a course need not begin in the conven- 
tional "domestic science" way. If we are to wait for the 
materials and preparation for which this method calls little 
will be done for a long time. In one school a teacher who 
had no materials, and but little training, worked out a suc- 
cessful course through her own initiative, founded wholly 

1 Intimate experience has so ingrained the realism of country school 
conditions upon my point of view that I have disregarded the con- 
ventionalities of literary form, and shall refer to the country teacher 
throughout this discussion by the use of the feminine pronoun. 



38 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

upon the needs of her particular community. A description 
of this course is given on page 244. 

A third effort for the development of an improved rural 
home life may be instituted by the country teacher through 
conducting some elementary extension work among house- 
wives and mothers. This may be done by organizing a little 
club among the women and older girls of the community. 
A home culture club, or a civic improvement association, or 
even a school parents' association, makes a good instrument 
through which to work. Such matters as those suggested in 
the course just mentioned may be considered as topics for 
discussion in this club. A reading course, also, may be made 
effective for this extension work. Some books for this pur- 
pose are listed in the bibliography of this book, and sources 
from which bulletins and valuable information may be gained 
are included in the rural progress directory. 

All this implies that the teacher as well as the mother must 
have a deep insight into the lives of those for whom she 
works and a genuine faith in the possible fulness and rich- 
ness of country life. Without this ideal little can be accom- 
plished. Every worker for rural progress must possess this 
vision of the future, though no one needs to see it more clearly 
or to cling to it more tenaciously than the country mother. 
The home is indeed the heart of the farm but the mother 
is the heart of the home. To no class of women in our 
national life is due more gratitude and consideration. They, 
more than all others, have sacrificed for the heritage we now 
possess. Into the farms of America men and women have 
put their lives; and others for generations to come will con- 
tinue the effort. That this life shall be relieved of much of 
its former drudgery and spiritualized through the social and 
industrial advancement of man is now the chief concern of 
the country school and of all other agencies working toward 
rural betterment, 



CHAPTER III 

THE COUNTRY CHURCH 

The Country Church as an Agency for Rural Progress. 

The country church question is in many respects the most 
baffling of rural problems. Small membership, poor attend- 
ance, inadequate financial support, and sectarian strife, all seem 
to indicate a lack of religion among farmers. Those most inti- 
mately acquainted with farm life, however, realize that this 
impression is false. Farmers as a class are especially in- 
clined toward religious thought. Their isolation, close con- 
tact with nature, and even the monotony of their work, pro- 
mote reflection and a spiritual attitude. The boy who trudges 
all day behind a plow ponders many things, and more hymns 
are sung over the hot ranges of farm kitchens than in the 
choirs of great cathedrals. Perhaps one of the first needs in 
the redirection of the church is a new definition of religion. 
Certainly a broader and more comprehensive interpretation of 
the term would at least prove helpful. 

Those who measure the strength of the church as a socializ- 
ing force in country life only by the number of existing 
churches and the percentage of church members make a 
grave mistake. The church as an agency of influence is much 
greater than this. Even unchurched communities are reli- 
gious, and the church in a broad sense is the social repre- 
sentative of all the religious and moral tendencies of every 
community, not only those expressed and avowed, but the 
unexpressed as well. 

39 



40 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



This interpretation is necessary to a true appreciation of 
the influence of the church as a rural social factor. In this 
connection it is well to remember, also, that the present loss 
of prestige on the part of the country church is neither funda- 
mental nor permanent, but only the inevitable result of its 
delay in adapting itself to recent social and industrial changes. 
The church has ever been one of the most conservative of 
institutions, and the status of the country church today is but 
an example of the condition any institution assumes when 
outstripped in progress by other institutions. The present is 
a period of marked transition in rural life from which the 
church and all other forces will emerge with renewed vitality. 
The country church, therefore, notwithstanding its present dor- 
mant state, is, and will ever continue to be, one of the chief 
socializing agencies of farm life. The Country Life Commis- 
sion, whose estimate of the present rural situation is undoubt- 
edly authoritative, emphasizes the social responsibility of the 
church very strongly, considering it "fundamentally a neces- 
sary institution in country life" and maintaining that it must 
be a leader in the attempt to idealize this life. 

The Present Status of Country Churches. Digest of 
country church information from the replies gathered by the 
Country Life Commission. Country church conditions vary in 
different localities quite as much as home conditions, and any 
attempt to generalize concerning them is equally hazardous. 
Moreover, few statistics are available for this purpose and 
but little could be gained from such a study if they were. 

Here and there in exceptional communities are found pros- 
perous country churches almost ideal in every way. In hun- 
dreds of rural localities, however, especially outside of New 
England, where the church problem is rather one of over- 
churching than of under-churching, there are no local churches, 
and church attendance in the nearest town, owing to road 
conditions and other causes, is irregular and infrequent. In 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



41 



other instances church buildings are old and dilapidated, con- 
gregations small, pastors underpaid, and all local church his- 
tory is but a pitiful story of the struggle for existence. Sun- 
day schools, upon the whole, are in better condition, but they 
too are invariably handicapped and at best render only inade- 
quate returns for the effort put into them. "Ten thousand 
church buildings," says a recent editorial in the Outlook, "are 
now out of use and repair in the United States, as an indication 




Church and Manse, Rock Creek Community, Menard County, Illinois 

This church is the center of a satisfying country neighborhood 
six miles from any town 

of changing belief and conditions, and ten thousand more 
ought to be out of use." 

Among the chief causes of this distress, as diagnosed by 
those who have made the most careful analysis of country 
church conditions, are overlooking and overlapping. By over- 
looking is meant neglect and the absence of church influence; 
by overlapping, the multiplication and existence of more sepa- 



42 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

rate denominational churches than a community can support 
The one means too little church opportunity; the other too 
much. Unchurched localities are frequent in many sections, 
especially in the West and Middle West, and their condition is 
serious. But even the apparent paganism of such communi- 
ties is desirable to the friction and strife occasioned by over- 
churching or overlapping. 

The two factors of rural church decadence just cited, how- 
ever, though fundamental, do not reach the heart of the pres- 
ent situation. In this effort a consideration of the following 
statistics on ministerial salaries gathered by Reverend Edgar 
Blake of New Hampshire is suggested. These statistics are 
based upon the salary lists of the four leading denominations 
in New Hampshire. In this state two hundred nine churches 
do not raise over $500 each for this purpose, and of these one 
hundred fifty-eight raise less than $500; one hundred twelve 
raise less than $400; sixty-five raise less than $300; twenty- 
five less than $200; and a few less than $100. And in general, 
forty-one per cent of the four leading denominations in New 
Hampshire do not raise an amount for ministers' salaries equal 
to the wages of common labor. A special investigation of this 
question made throughout the Methodist denomination in 1910 
shows that outside a hundred of the largest cities the average 
salary of Methodist ministers is but $573 a year. From these 
and numerous similar facts it is evident that the country church 
problem is an economic problem. 

The country church question and other phases of country 
life have not yet been sufficiently investigated to make general- 
izations possible. A momentous beginning has been made in 
this direction, however, through the work of the Commission 
on Country Life. A digest of the church information gath- 
ered from the 125,000 replies received by this commission has 
been compiled, and is reproduced here through the kindness 
of Professor Kenyon L. Butterfield, President of the Massa- 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



43 



chusetts College of Agriculture, and member of the Commis- 
sion, under whose instruction it was prepared. This digest 
furnishes the most reliable information concerning the present 
status of country churches that has thus far been deduced. 

What proportion of the whole population of the community do the 
churches hold and iniluence? Replies vary from i% to 100%. In the 
South, more than 66% of the whites, often 80% to 90%, are influenced. 
In the West, the average often runs under 50% ; sometimes very low. 
On the whole, from 50% to 60%. There seems to be a falling off in 
the East, perhaps more in active membership than in church influence. 

Are they gaining or losing? More are gaining than are losing. In 
the East, the losers and the stationaries are more numerous than the 
gainers. In the South, there is a decided gain. Nearly 33% are 
neither gaining nor losing in the East and Central West. There is 
some evidence that village churches are gaining, but that isolated 
country churches are losing. 

Where they fail, what are the reasons? The most frequent reasons 
are indifference, lack of earnestness and missionary zeal, inadequate 
preparation or inefficiency on the part of the pastor. Apathy, in- 
difference, commercialism, growing irreligion, or antipathy to the 
church on the part of those sought. But a large percentage speak of 
bad roads, sparse and poor population; lack of men and churches to 
cover the ground; irregular service; with fatigue, hard conditions of 
life, incessant toil, and insufficient clothes for church going. The 
churches often are in the towns ; in the West the country church is 
often an annex or appendage and all its energy is exhausted in a 
struggle to exist. Sectarian quarrels sometimes hinder; the attitude 
of the church on the amusements of the young, nurses antipathy in 
places; in the West, baseball, excursions, and Saturday night dances; 
in the East, the Sunday newspaper, the trolley, and the city amuse- 
ments, take many away. 

There is some foreign opposition where there is a mixture of races 
and not a church for each. As yet, there is little racial commingling in 
religious matters. The church often has no interesting message for 
the people; it does not get into their lives. Bigotry and worn out 
dogma do not draw men. The laymen are not enthusiastic in 95% 
of churches ; even church members do not train their children in 
church attendance, and they often exercise very little authority over 
them in religious matters. 



44 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



The floating tenant population and the foreign element, who care 
little for a strict Sabbath, tend to break down religious influence. The 
adverse influence of the renter in supporting the church, or any moral 
or religious community organization, is noted several times. 

Is the multiplication of churches, because of denominational divisions, 
a factor? In more than 66% of cases, perhaps, it is a factor. Some 
do not understand ; several think it does not touch the problem ; a few 




Play in the Rock Creek Community 

Scene from a Fourth-of-July celebration inaugurated by the church. 
The push ball for this game was made by the boys 



think it the biggest mistake in villages and small towns, especially in 
the West. 

Does it aid or hinder church work? It aids in a fair minority of 
cases. Competition stimulates ; there are too few churches to cover 
the ground (South and West) ; there must be at least a Catholic 
and a Protestant church, and one for each foreign tongue. 

It hinders in the major number; sometimes by sectarian prejudice, 
often by dividing the financial support. The South and far West re- 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 45 

port less hindrance than would be supposed. A few cases of federated 
or "union" churches are mentioned. 

What proportion of churches might be wisely eliminated by consolida- 
tion or federation ? The usual reply is 33% or 50%. A small minority- 
feel that 90% might be eliminated. The feeling that there is a growing 
harmony among denominations is manifest. 

What changes in church methods are required to meet present con- 
ditions? This is frequently answered by, "Can't say," or, "We want 
to know." Liberality; harmony; union; less doctrinal preaching; 
more talks on right living; emphasis on things of this life; sympathy 
with rural life; teach love of rural things; respect for law; Christian 
brotherhood to the children; the institutional church; men's and 
women's clubs; personal work — visitation; a church open week days; 
live pastors ; cooperation with schools, farmers' organizations and fra- 
ternal orders, are common suggestions. In the South, an educated 
ministry is the vital need. Sectarianism runs high, but it is not the 
fundamental weakness. 

Many think no revolutionary change is necessary; preach the Gospel 
of the Scriptures with earnestness ; renew missionary zeal ; consider 
the church an organ for community spirit; let the ministers be "coun- 
try" men of Christian spirit, and the church will revive. In general, 
the testimony impresses one with the idea that the needs of the 
country in this respect are not very different from those of the city. 

What are the churches doing for the community life — its educational, 
industrial, social, and recreational development? Almost nothing for 
the industrial ; a good deal for the social (in fact, all that is done, 
often) through organizations previously mentioned; frequently a good 
deal for the recreational and a little for the educational, chiefly by 
lecture courses and reading clubs. 

Very often nothing at all is done except in a social way. Many 
answer, "All they can do." 

What more could and should they do in these lines? Churches might 
provide attractive music and lecture courses ; become a center of social 
life open for community enterprises and gatherings of various sorts ; 
might organize educational classes and recreations after the Y. M. 
C. A. fashion; might teach cooking, hygiene and right living, and 
industrial economics for the whole community. More attention should 
be paid to the poor, to the outsider, to the young people, to the for- 
eigner and stranger. Some suggest churches with gymnasiums, bath- 
rooms, and rest-rooms. Several want pastors who live in the country. 



4 6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Many feel that the church can do no more, nor is it organized to do 
anything along these lines. 

How far are they responsible for the tendency away from the farm? 
Not at all, unless negatively, by not making country life attractive. 

To what degree, and how, do they actually influence the morals of 
the community ? They have a wide influence in the large majority of 
cases, often indefinable, sometimes weak. The precept and example 
of pastors and people are usually good. They stand for the best 
things. The best people belong to the church. They stand firmly 
against flagrant vice, sin, and lawlessness. The church is often the 
only organized moral force in the community. Pulpit preaching and 
Sabbath school teaching are strong forces for righteousness and 
morality in most communities. 

A few think the church has little influence in any way. 

Are the country clergymen properly trained for their work? In the 
majority of cases they are not. Presbyterians, Lutherans, Catholics, 
and Congregationalists are said to be men of good conventional edu- 
cation everywhere. 

// not, in what respect lacking? Deplorable ignorance in all respects 
in the South. Elsewhere, broad culture, knowledge of men and affairs, 
sometimes Biblical knowledge, and general education ; often tact, com- 
mon sense, agricultural knowledge; sympathy with farm life, energy, 
zeal, personal power as leaders, financial ability ; gumption ; occasion- 
ally they are morally unsound. Many complain that the country 
clergyman is a young man getting the experience necessary to hold a 
city church, or an old man who has been "shelved." "The country is 
not my home" for most of them, say some. There is evidence that the 
frontier missionary is better fitted for his work than almost any other 
man in the service. 

Other testimonies are : "They need more sociology, economics, 
political science, in place of denominational theology." "There are 
no men trained for country service." "They consider the country 
church a stepping stone, the sooner passed, the better." "I think 50% 
of the men who serve country churches have no sympathy with 
farmers or farm conditions, . . . and no sense of the trials that 
belong to farm life." "They need a thorough knowledge of the farm 
needs under present economic, industrial, and social conditions." 

What is the average compensation? In the South, from $50 to $800 
per year; average about $500; very many have four to six churches 
at $50 to $150 per year each. 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 47 

In the East and far West, the compensation is from $500 to $1200 
(a very few mention $1500) ; the average is about $800 to $1000. 

For the rest, the compensation runs from $400 to $1000; $600 to 
$800 on the whole. The manse is usually furnished in addition. 

Is this adequate ? Very few find it adequate to raise and educate 
a family on, and leave anything for a library. A good many think it 
is inadequate for the work to be done, but sufficient for the work that 
is done. Many communities want a minister "his entire time." 

In what way can there be improvements in these respects? Elim- 
inate, consolidate, federate, pay more and thus draw better men; 
revolutionize the finances, adopt the tithing system, or introduce sys- 
tematic giving; run the church by a business man on a business basis. 
Let the seminaries train men for country charges. Have country 
parsonages ; make the church more of a community agency, and more 
money and better men will come. There is a feeling that the well- 
equipped man will be paid adequately, but at present the good men 
go to the city; they have no sympathy with rural life. Some believe 
that cooperation of church and grange and school would help the 
situation. A few think that the whole denomination should aid in 
supporting the weak churches. Very many have nothing to offer. 
Ministers say they have been long engaged on this problem. 

Is the community fully able, -financially, to support adequate church 
work without outside aid? The community is able in 90% of cases. 
Sometimes the church membership is not. The tenancy problem enters 
here, and of course the number of churches, necessary or unnecessary. 
Many country churches receive aid from a central board. In a pioneer 
community and among the poorer districts of the South, some outside 
aid seems to be necessary. Several object that the money spent for bad 
spirits and tobacco in almost any community would lavishly support 
a pastor. 

What Is Being Done for Progress 
Church Federation. From the foregoing discussion it is 
evident that a plan designed to overcome the two evils of 
overlooking and overlapping, providing at the same time for 
financial difficulties, would be at least a partial salvation for 
country churches. Though not generally familiar to country 
laymen, such a plan known as church federation is now under 
way and well developed in some sections, especially in New 



48 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

England, where it originated. By federation is meant simply 
the cooperation and working, together of churches for the com- 
mon good. In many respects it is a movement among churches 
analogous to that of consolidation among schools. 

Federation does not necessarily mean the renunciation of 
denominational principles on the part of those who constitute 
the new union. It means only the subordination of creed and 
doctrine, and the emphasis of common Christianity in an 
effort to elevate mankind by improving the social and spir- 
itual conditions of a local community. It means, in the con- 
crete, that instead of attempting to half maintain four or 
five unpaid ministers and struggling churches in one parish, 
the available funds and energy shall be consolidated and 
directed toward the decent support of one or two ministers 
and churches. Federation means, briefly, increased salaries 
for ministers, larger congregations and Sunday schools, bet- 
ter church buildings, increased social, religious, and civic 
consciousness, and a more Christ-like spirit of harmony and 
unity. Its fundamental element is the one needed in all rural 
progress, namely, cooperation. The report of the Country 
Life Commission contains the following statement concerning 
it : "This movement for federation is one of the most promis- 
ing in the whole religious field, because it does not attempt to 
break down denominational influence or standards of thought. 
It puts emphasis not on the church itself, but on the work to 
be done by the church for all men — churched and unchurched. 
... It hardly seems necessary to urge that the spirit of 
cooperation among churches, the diminution of sectarian 
strife, the attempt to reach the entire community, must become 
the guiding principles everywhere if the rural church is long 
to retain its hold." 

Local church federation has been practiced unconsciously 
in the United States since the colonization of the country, but 
it is only recently that the federation movement has assumed 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



49 



significant proportions and become a state and national move- 
ment. To Maine belongs the credit of first instituting a state- 
wide movement for this purpose. This organization, known 
as the Interdenominational Commission of Maine, originated 
in the letter of a Methodist delegate, Reverend C. S. Cum- 
mings, to a Congregational Conference held in 1890, but was 




Federated Church, Proctor, Vermont 
In this church twelve different denominations worship peacefully 

not officially organized until the succeeding year. Every state 
in New England is now organized for church federation. The 
movement has spread as far west as Arizona, enrolling in all 
eighteen states. Of this number, Vermont, Massachusetts, 
and Rhode Island are most effectively organized. The New 
England states, through their mutual ties of similar indus- 
trial, social, and religious experience, have recently gone a 



5° 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



step farther and organized a New England Country Church 
Association. 

Unique among the federated churches of New England, 
owing to the number of denominations included, is the Union 
Church at Proctor, Vermont. Here twelve denominations are 
united. Something of the significance of the spirit behind 
this movement may be appreciated by noting the variety of 
doctrine represented in this fellowship, which begins with 
Unitarians at one extreme and runs through the scale to 
Catholics at the other, including also Baptists, Free Baptists, 
Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Universalists, Christians, Con- 
gregationalists, Methodists, members of the Reformed Church 
of Hungary, and Friends. As a result of this union, the civic 
and religious spirit of the town has been greatly heightened, 
the finances of the church are in such admirable shape that 
a $35,000 marble building has been erected, and a capable 
minister has been employed and paid a worthy salary. 

To interpret this tendency toward union among churches 
properly, the reader should understand that these local mani- 
festations are but part of a great national movement in the 
same direction. This national movement is now centered 
in a body of appointed delegates representing thirty-two of 
the evangelical denominations of the United States and about 
eighteen million laymen, known as the Federal Council of the 
Churches of Christ in America. Biennial meetings of this 
Council have been held since 1908. Reports of these meetings 
are published in pamphlet form and may be obtained with 
other literature, as advised in the rural progress directory of 
this book. The development of the Federal Council of Churches 
is regarded by leading theologists and others who have most 
carefully measured its meaning "as the most Christian meas- 
ure ever taken in America." This organization now serves as 
a clearing house for church information and as a great cen- 
tral force for religious harmony and concentrated effort. 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 5 1 

Special Training for Country Ministers. In a series of 
lectures recently delivered before the students of Hartford 
Theological Seminary, President Kenyon L. Butterfield said: 
"I hold that the problem of the country church is the most 
important aspect of the rural problem. It touches the high- 
est point in the redirection of rural life. It sounds the deepest 
note in harmonizing the factors of a permanent rural civiliza- 
tion. It speaks the most eloquent word in the struggle to main- 
tain the status of the farming class." If this is true, and it 
seems to be the consensus of opinion among rural sociologists, 
it means that the country church must ultimately stand forth 
as the leading institution of rural life. The advantages of 
the country school for assuming immediate 'responsibility 
in a campaign for rural progress are advocated later in this 
book (Chapter VII), but this leadership is acknowledged 
a somewhat transitory function of the school, and it is clear 
that eventually the church must "sound the deepest note in a 
permanent rural civilization." 

The fulfilment of this opportunity on the part of the 
church, however, will require a redirected, energized rural 
ministry. The country minister must become a leader. For 
this leadership he has already some advantages not possessed 
by the teacher. For one thing, he is associated chiefly with 
adults and is usually less migratory than the present country 
teacher. He is thus in a position to be the key, not only to 
the country church problem, but to the whole rural situation. 
But such leadership on the part of the country minister neces- 
sitates not only scholarship but peculiar sympathy and insight 
into the experiences and problems of farm life, both of which 
are too often lacking. For many reasons, chiefly economic, 
for which they are by no means wholly accountable, country 
clergy, like country teachers, are too likely to be either the 
"back numbers" or the youths of their profession. 

The necessity of special training for country ministers is but 



52 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

very recently coming to be recognized. This training when 
given will be analogous to that provided for country teachers, 
though perhaps less intensive and detailed. But the same 
argument holds for both — namely, that any leader or public 
servant, to be efficient, must understand the daily life of those 
for whom he works. And, since life is expended chiefly in the 
occupation whereby we live, it follows that country teachers 
and preachers must know agriculture and the social and eco- 
nomic conditions of farm life. This is positively fundamental. 
Both religion and education in the country must run into the 
affairs of everyday life. The Independent for August 26, 
1909, summarizes the type of man and training needed in rural 
parishes pretty well in these words: "The minister of a 
country church ought to know more of what Jesus knew and 
of what Burbank knows ; that is, a good deal about the flowers 
of the field and about farmers' crops ; and he ought to know 
the science of agriculture right up to date. On a Sunday if 
it comes to a pinch between having his parishioners' hay get 
wet and his church get empty, why should he not put his 
manuscript in his pocket, take a hay fork in his hand and 
help his poorest parishioner secure his crop? This, at least, 
should be his comprehension of righteousness and duty." 

For much of the present neglect in this matter of special 
training for rural pastors the theological seminaries are 
undoubtedly accountable, just as state normal schools are 
accountable for the lack of special training among country 
teachers. Nowhere is the work of theological schools defi- 
nitely organized and planned to meet the specific needs of stu- 
dents who expect to enter the rural field. Indeed, the nucleus 
of the whole situation is that practically no students do pur- 
posefully and consistently plan to undertake rural work and 
make it a serious life study. The country parish is invariably 
regarded as a stepping-stone, the sooner passed the better. 
What the country needs most in the way of church improve- 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



53 



ment is a profession of country clergy who will study the prob- 
lems of rural life as carefully as city clergy now study those 
of urban life. But farmers must understand that such a 
profession, like the country teaching profession, can never 
arise until matters of economic support, which lie within their 
power, are satisfactorily adjusted through the principle of 
federation or in some other way. 

What special assistance is available for country ministers 
at present comes for the most part through country church 
conferences. Even this aid is still rare, but new instances 
are arising every month. Among the most significant of 
these conferences yet convened have been those held annually 
since 1908 under the direction of the Massachusetts College 
of Agriculture at Amherst. Here for the past three years 
d Conference of Agricultural Educators and Rural Social 
Workers has been called, preceding which a two weeks' course 
of lectures especially designed for country ministers is offered. 
This course is a part of the regular summer school of the 
agricultural college, and relates almost wholly to agriculture, 
and the social and economic aspects of farm life. 

The Department of Church and Country Life of the Pres- 
byterian Board of Home Missions. By far the most active 
and constructive agency for country church betterment that 
has yet developed is the Department of Church and Country 
Life of the Presbyterian Board of Home Missions. This 
department, under the scientific direction of Dr. Warren H. 
Wilson, has become practically a national clearing house for 
country church information and suggestion, not only for 
country churches of the Presbyterian denomination but for 
all others, and especially for rural social workers throughout 
the United States. Through the help of Miss Anna B. Taft, 
assistant superintendent of the department, the following com- 
prehensive outline of its work is possible here. 

The central thought of this department about which its 



54 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



various forms of activity are correlated is an institutional pro- 
gram of action for the country church. This program consti- 
tutes the most thorough analysis of the present country church 
situation yet made. It has been worked out by Dr. Wilson 
and successful ministers from local rural fields who are coop- 
erating with the department, and indicates the general line of 
action and procedure which, through experience and actual 
test, has proved most direct and effective in solving the prob- 
lems of the country church. This platform, briefly sum- 
marized, advocates: 

The church as a center for the building of the community. 

The federation and cooperation of all the churches in the 
community in order to make the people one. 

The consolidation of rural schools for the education of young 
men and women for life in the country. 

The promotion of scientific agriculture in order to conserve 
the soil for our children. 

The production of an abundance for the consumer, and the 
keeping of the farmer's income abreast of the rising price of 
land. 

The leadership of the church in social recreation for the 
moral development of the youth and the workingmen of the 
community. 

Better living conditions in the interests of the future and 
the cherishing of the history of the community in memory of 
past days. 

Such ministry to the community that pauperism shall be 
excluded and the burden of poverty lifted. 

The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ all the time and 
in every community. 

Underlying this program of action is an important field of 
investigation and research. This work is carried on through 
rural sociological surveys. By means of these surveys all the 
conditioning factors of church welfare in a local rural com- 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



55 



munity are ascertained and made available for reference and 
guidance. Information relating to family life, household com- 
fort, methods of farming, schools, business, and other needs 
and conditions of the community life, are covered in this 




Exhibit of the Presbyterian Department of Church and Country Life 
Made at the Fourth National Corn Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, 1911 



investigation, which includes not church members only but the 
total population of the whole community. These surveys are 
urged by the department as a necessary part of the work of 
every country minister. The inestimable value of such effort 
as a guide to action and policy is obvious. Local surveys of 



56 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

this type, now obtainable in print, have been made in Illinois, 
Missouri, and Pennsylvania. 

Another activity of the Presbyterian Department is its pub- 
licity work. This is carried on through the press, through 
numerous church conferences, and through exhibits. The leaf- 
lets put out by the department from time to time constitute 
some of the best current literature on the country church ques- 
tion, and every country teacher and rural life worker would 
do well to request copies from the office in New York. Aside 
from this leaflet literature, many articles for the religious and 
general press, and monthly articles to over two hundred agri- 
cultural papers, are prepared and published by the officers of 
the department. The country church conferences just men- 
tioned are of two types, the extended "congress," two or three 
days in duration, and the "one-day country life institute." A 
sociological survey of all or some part of the territory involved 
precedes each congress and the results of this survey are 
shown graphically in an exhibit. 

But the most significant effort of the Presbyterian Depart- 
ment of Church and Country Life is its training of ministers 
for rural service. Special summer schools are organized for 
this purpose. These are held sometimes in theological colleges, 
though more generally in agricultural colleges. But wher- 
ever their location, an admirable blending of theology, rural 
sociology, and agriculture is always insured. The courses thus 
offered are in substance graduate courses for country minis- 
ters and are planned with the view of preparing leaders for 
the extension of the work and policy of the department. 
These leaders, or "country life organizers," in returning to 
their local fields, practice the country church program advo- 
cated by the department in their own churches, and, through 
addresses and local organizations otherwise cooperate with 
the national office for the promotion of better country church 
conditions. Over a hundred such organizers are now at work 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



57 



scattered throughout the various states. The value of this in- 
oculation is self-evident. 

Even from this brief account it is clearly apparent that 
most excellent service for country church progress is being 
rendered by the Presbyterian denomination through its Depart- 
ment of Church and Country Life. So efficient, in fact, is this 
service that it is to be hoped other denominations will soon 
institute similar departments for the benefit of their country 
churches. 1 

County Work of the Young Men's Christian Association. 
Another movement doing effective work for the progress of 
the country church and the improvement of rural religious 
conditions has been instituted through the County Depart- 
ment of the Young Men's Christian Association. Of this 
agency and its work in rural communities, the Country Life 
Commission says: "There should be a large extension of 
the work of the Young Men's Christian Association into the 
rural communities. There is apparently no other way to grip 
the hearts and lives of the boys and young men of the aver- 
age country neighborhood. This association must regard itself 
as an ally of the church, with a special function and a special 
field." 

The general organization of the work which is here so 
highly commended embodies national, state, county, and local 
units. The responsibility rests chiefly upon the secretaries of 
these various units, who in most cases are men of special 
training and keen insight. The central office is located in 
New York, at 124 East Twenty-eighth Street, with Mr. Albert 
E. Roberts as International Secretary. Each organized state 
then has its central state office and state secretary to super- 
vise the local, city, village, and township associations. This 
whole organization is based upon the principle that what is 

1 The Methodist Church has just established such a department 
at its last general conference (1912). 



58 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



done for men and communities is likely to weaken them, but 
what they do for themselves is sure to strengthen. In har- 
mony with this doctrine the chief function and golden rule 
of the County Work of the Young Men's Association has 
become "the discovery, enlistment, training, and direction 
of volunteer leaders/' Herein lies the secret of the success 
of this movement, which in this way reaches down to the very 
heart of the rural social problem, fixing its attention upon 




1 i!% a 



» ,iUI* 



M 






County Work of the Young Men's Christian Association 

some guiltless Cromwell and developing his latent abilities 
into powers of leadership and direction for the benefit of 
his community. The significance of work of this character 
cannot be too strongly emphasized. What farmers need today 
is not imported leadership, but the inspiration and direction 
that will develop their own talent in this line. 

Fifty-three counties in twenty-three different states and 
Canadian provinces have been organized under the County 
Department of the Young Men's Christian Association, and 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



59 



about 25,000 young men and boys are enrolled in its six hun- 
dred local organizations. Among the states best organized 
are New York, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio, Massachusetts, New 
Jersey, and Minnesota. This department seeks to quicken not 
only the religious but the social consciousness of its mem- 
bership, and like other far-seeing agencies is working toward 
the cooperation and federation of all rural forces. The 
peculiarity of its influence in overriding denominational bar- 
riers and furthering the progress of church federation is 
especially worthy of notice. Sociologically, this is one of the 
most significant aspects of the movement. 

Leaders vary in degree of efficiency, but upon the whole 
the work of the County Department is splendidly adapted to 
meet the needs of country boys and to fit the demands of 
each particular group. In general, where properly organized, 
it is four-fold, and the boys understand that they must support 
equally well religious, social, educational, and physical activi- 
ties. Meetings of local associations are held usually once a 
week, and at each meeting at least twenty minutes of Bible 
study is required. The physical, social, and educational work, 
consisting of athletic meets, play festivals, summer camps, com- 
petitive games, educational excursions, debates, contests, sup- 
pers, socials, and similar activities, makes a strong appeal to 
the average boy and suggests a happy solution of the problem 
of recreation for country boys, which, in turn, will go a long 
way toward solving the much discussed problem of rural mi- 
gration. 

A little magazine, Rural Manhood, especially devoted to 
county work and the interests of the farm, is now issued 
monthly by the Young Men's Christian Association from 
the central office in New York. The standards of this maga- 
zine are excellent, and it has come to fill a much-felt need. 
Another undertaking of Young Men's Christian Association 



6o COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

management is the promotion of special summer schools at 
three different points, particularly at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, 
for the training of leaders and secretaries. 

A similar work for country girls, now being instituted 
through the energies of the Young Women's Christian Asso- 
ciation, but as yet somewhat less fully developed, must be 
passed over here for lack of space. In principle of organiza- 
tion and method, however, this work is practically analogous 
to that of the Young Men's Christian Association. 

What Might Be Done for Progress 

It is scarcely the province here to point out what may be 
done for progress in the trying situations that confront the 
country church today. The seriousness of this problem is now 
engrossing the attention of some of the best minds in the nation. 
Yet some things are so evident in the light of the information 
which has just been presented that any observer might sug- 
gest a few lines of advance. In general, it may be said 
that what is needed is more of the good work now in opera- 
tion. The country church needs more federation and coopera- 
tion, more money, more of the spirit of the Young Men's 
Christian Association, better educated ministers, and more 
well-directed leadership. A great incongruity exists between 
the amount of this kind of work done and the amount to be 
done. Those who know the actual situation well realize that 
the lines of progress pictured in this chapter are not universal 
They are, in truth, only the scattered threads of a movement 
toward progress that locally is just becoming conscious and 
purposive. 

General Lines of Progress. The great opportunity of theo- 
logical schools for extending their courses and conducting con- 
ferences to meet the needs not only of students preparing to 
enter the rural field, but of clergy already at work in it, 
has been indicated. A similar opportunity on the part of 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 6l 

agricultural colleges to respond by adapting and offering 
courses in agriculture for the special benefit of the rural 
ministry has also been suggested. But the work should go 
even further than this. Each state, through some of its edu- 
cational institutions or voluntary organizations, should hold 
annual rural progress conferences, similar to those now under- 
taken in Massachusetts and Illinois (see pages 309 and 318) in 
which the various rural social forces of the state are repre- 
sented, with the church receiving its share of attention. 

Probably the most urgent need in the way of organization 
for country church progress, however, is for the establish- 
ment of state federations, or other state-wide interdenomina- 
tional associations, for country churches. An active, well- 
directed state federation of churches in every state in the 
Union would work wonders for Christian unity and helpful- 
ness. These organizations should serve not only as clearing 
houses for information, but as central advisory boards and 
sources of local inspiration and stimulation, as already illus- 
trated in New England. To supplement and assist these state 
federations each denomination might well establish a special 
national department for the consideration of the country church 
problem as has already been done through the Presbyterian 
Department of Church and Country Life. The opportunity 
of the rural press, especially of the older and more influential 
agricultural journals, for putting the country church issue 
before the farming population is another self-evident advantage 
for assistance as yet but slightly improved. Reforms of 
this proportion, however, though sure to come eventually, 
are somewhat remote, and in the meantime nothing can do 
more in furthering the interests of the country church as a 
social institution than the farmers' own organizations, the 
Grange and the farmers' institute. Neither of these agencies, 
and especially the Grange, which is forbidden to become 
involved in religious controversy, can afford to touch this 



62 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

question in a narrow, sectarian way, but both might well con- 
sider it from a large, sociological viewpoint. If the church, 
as is so often declared, is to become the leading social insti- 
tution of the rural community, certainly such discussion is not 
only legitimate but necessary. 

Possibilities for Progress in the Individual Local Church : 
Story of the DuPage Presbyterian Church in Will County, 
Illinois. The best place to begin with reform in the church, 
as elsewhere, is at home in the individual local church. More 
can be done here than is commonly realized. The chief need is 
for well-directed leadership. This gives the country pastor 
the coveted opportunity for service which he seeks so eagerly 
but so often overlooks. If the church is weak and needs to 
cooperate with another, as it probably does, action need not 
be delayed until some superior authority recommends union. 
''The truest and best beginning of any enterprise of church 
federation," says Reverend George Frederick Wells, of the 
Federal Council of Churches, "must be in the individual com- 
munity." In many places people have never considered the 
possibility of forming a union church, simply through lack of 
thought and information. If a community is narrow-minded 
and petty, and uninformed on opportunities for progress, whose 
fault is it more than the minister's? 

Aside from federation, the work of the country pastor 
must look to the upbuilding of an institutional or social- 
service church. Institutionalism should not be overdone in 
the country because habits of cooperation, rather than those 
of individualism, need to be established among farmers. Care 
must be exercised at all times, therefore, to keep the whole 
church unified, no matter how many clubs, leagues, societies, 
and organizations cluster under its roof. When this is done, 
the more activity developed the better. One of the most 
ideal local country churches in the United States is the 
DuPage Presbyterian Church, near Plainfield, Illinois. This 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 



63 



church is a true country church, being located out on the 
open prairie six miles from any town. Reverend Matthew B. 
McNutt, the efficient minister who is chiefly responsible for 
the unusual developments that have occurred here during his 
twelve years of residence in the community, is a leader among 
men and has already found a national reputation thrust upon 
him because of the helpful suggestion of his service. The 




The DuPage Presbyterian Church, Will County, Illinois 



personal account of his work as quoted here from a leaflet 
issued by the Young People's Missionary Movement of the 
United States and Canada will be a revelation to many. 

I resolved first of all, when I went to DuPage, that I would get 
next to the boys and girls ; that I would make that old church a great 
center of attraction. Notice I did not say the great center. I do not 
believe in the church attempting to do everything or trying to do 
things that might better be left to other institutions. But I would 



64 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

make it a great center of attraction; a hub of joys, of happy memories 
and associations for that entire community. I determined, with God's 
help, to make it an indispensable institution to every man, woman, and 
child within its reach. 

I set to work, first, and organized an old-fashioned singing school. 
It might have been anything else just as well — a class in scientific 
farming, animal husbandry, domestic science, or nature study. I 
chose the singing school because I had some knowledge of music. 
The idea is to have something that will afford a point of contact 
between the leader and the people, and also to get everybody inter- 
ested in doing something. The singing-school met one night in 
the week, in the church. There was some good musical talent among 
the young folks and this new enterprise proved to be a great hit. Out 
of it grew a good strong chorus choir, a male quartet, a ladies' quartet, 
an orchestra, and some good soloists. Besides, it improved the singing 
in the church and Sunday-school a hundred per cent. 

Next we started what we called a gospel chorus. We got some 
live new song books and went singing around from home to home. 
At first some of the people were a little shy of the gospel chorus, but 
soon they were vying with each other to see who could secure these 
singers. The chorus went to the homes of the aged who were too 
feeble to come to the meeting-house. It sang for the sick. It sang 
in the homes of those who never heard any other music. 

An athletic association already existed. We encouraged the boys in 
their field-day sports. Two or three baseball teams were organized. 
We played successfully many of the surrounding towns including 
Chicago. We never challenged the Cubs but we did challenge a team 
from the Fullerton Avenue Presbyterian Church, Chicago, and beat 
them on our grounds one Fourth of July, 20 to o. 

The church building was not suited for social gatherings, so a 
series of sociables was planned at the different homes. These were not 
the money-making kind; they were sociables indeed. The older people 
often attended and engaged in the play with the young folks. Refresh- 
ments were served free. At these gatherings special attention was 
given to strangers and to the backward boys and girls, and a few of 
us always had upon our hearts those who were not of the fold of 
Christ. They grew to be a sociable lot of folks, I tell you! They 
became well acquainted. And such fellowships ! Such friendships ! Such 
companionships ! And all centering around the church. 

The women of the parish had long had a missionary society. One of 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 65 

the mothers said to me one day, "Pastor, don't you think it would be 
a good thing if we had some kind of a little social circle for our 
girls? They are just aching for something to do." I said, "Yes, 
let us have it." She invited them to her home one afternoon and nine 
responded. They had a delightful time and they called themselves 
"The Girls' Mission Band," deciding to meet thereafter once a month. 
In these little gatherings were combined devotional, social, and educa- 
tional work, and club features. After the program they would sew and 
make garments for the poor in the city. A meal is always served 
at these meetings by the hostess. The "Band" grew and so did the 
girls. When they became women they changed the name of the Band 
to "The Young Women's Missionary Society," which now has nearly 
forty members. As the young women marry, they are transferred to 
the Women's Society. 

A similar work was begun for the young men. It is simply the 
young men's class in the Sunday-school organized, and is called "The 
Young Men's Bible Class." It has upwards of fifty members. This 
class meets every Sunday morning with the Sunday-school for Bible 
study and is taught by the pastor. Besides, it meets the first Tuesday 
of each month for fellowship, fun, business, devotions, and for literary 
and social purposes. Much has to be combined in one meeting, because 
it is difficult for people to get together very often in the country. 

This class, and the Young Women's Class have become the strong 
right arm of the church. We are now selecting our teachers and 
officers for the Sunday-school and church from them. 

The young men conduct a lecture course, not for pecuniary profit, 
but for the sole and only purpose of furnishing wholesome entertain- 
ment for the community. We have had some hundred-dollar attrac- 
tions. The entire community patronize this lecture course without 
exception and regardless of creed. The Catholics and the German 
Lutherans attend. People from the surrounding towns are frequently 
seen in the audiences, driving sometimes ten miles or more. 

Another enterprise which the young men's Bible class has introduced 
and supported is a bureau of publicity. The boys invested in a small 
printing press. They, with the assistance of the pastor, do all the 
church printing and issue a local church paper. 

This class has developed some very good speakers and singers. 
Under its auspices open-air gospel and song services are held in a 
grove in the summer time and in the public schoolhouses in winter. 
These meetings have been a great blessing to the young men as well 



66 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



as to those to whom they minister. In the pastor's absence on Sunday 
his Bible class has frequently taken charge of the service, three or four 
of them giving short gospel talks. 

Our Sunday-school is well organized and graded and has three 
hundred members including the Cradle Roll and the Home Department. 

This church has learned the value of inspirational meetings. Two 
principal ones are held each year. One takes place on New-year's eve, 
when the whole community, old and young, gather at the church as one 
family to watch the old year die and to welcome in the new. This is 





1 1 i-^ -8 ^ " 


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x«» «h^ "icj?^^ 


P-, » , ,.- --.^j|? 



Lecture Course Audience at the DuPage Church 



no common "watch service." The evening is planned to overflow with 
good and interesting things. 

The other great inspirational meeting is held at the close of the 
church year. It is an all-day meeting, and the whole countryside turn 
out to help round up the year's work. The ladies serve a banquet at 
noon, free of charge. There is always good music on these occasions 
and two or three good participants from outside supplement the home 
talent. These big meetings are a great uplift to the country people. 
They promote friendship and good fellowship, and the dead-level gait 
always receives a severe jolt. 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 67 

Other inspirational meetings are held for particular organizations in 
the church. The Young Men's Bible Class held one not long since, 
attended by one hundred young men. 

Eventually this church outgrew the old building, and it rose up and 
erected a new one, costing, including furnishings, $10,000 in money 
and the equivalent of another thousand in hauling which the farmers 
did gratis. Practically all the money was subscribed before a shovel- 
ful of earth was moved for the foundation. No offering was taken at 
the dedication for building purposes or for furnishings. Every person 
in the community was given opportunity to help build the new church. 
And all responded heartily. The Catholics and German Lutherans 
contributed to the building fund and helped to haul the materials. 

The new structure is Gothic in design and is built of brick. The 
interior is finished in red oak. A handsome fresco in water-colors 
adorns the walls, with panels of burlap below the surbase molding. 
This with the beautiful art glass windows gives the interior a most- 
pleasing and homelike appearance. The floors are covered with cork 
carpet. The main auditorium has a bowl-shaped floor and seats three 
hundred people. The assembly-room of the Sunday-school apartment, 
which is separated from the auditorium by accordion doors, has an 
additional one hundred and fifty sittings. There are fourteen rooms 
in all, including a number of classrooms, choir and cloak rooms, toilet, 
pastor's study, vestibule, kitchen, dining-hall, cistern, and furnace and 
fuel rooms. The building is heated with hot air furnaces and lighted 
with gas. A system of water-works supplies water wherever needed 
about the building. 

A library has been started which already has a thousand volumes. It 
is purposed to put in a line of reference books. A number of study 
courses are being planned in scientific agriculture, civil government, 
sociology, nature study, and domestic science. 

There have been no evangelistic services in this church by profes- 
sional evangelists for ten years. Formerly, this was a favorite method. 
But there is not another ten year period in the history of the church 
that shows as many accessions as the last decade. 

The Country Teacher's Attitude and Relation to the 
Church Question. The attitude of the country teacher 
toward church interests may be expressed from two points 
of view. As a member of the community she must participate 
in the local church interests of the immediate neighborhood; 



68 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

as a leader and student of rural social conditions she must 
give thought and study to the country church problem as a 
whole. Ordinarily the first of these requirements is well ful- 
filled by country teachers. It is rather as to her attitude as 
a student of rural social progress that the average country 
teacher needs enlightenment on church matters. Here the 
difficulty has been not only a lack of consciousness, but a lack 
of information and assistance. In the few words devoted to 
the consideration of this aspect of the problem no greater 
service can be rendered than that of suggesting connections 
through which this information may be obtained. Much good 
thought on this subject may be gathered from current period- 
ical literature. Some of the best of these articles selected 
with the needs of country teachers particularly in mind are 
listed among the church references in the bibliography of 
this book. Those who hope to effect some definite local 
reform, however, will need further information. It will be 
necessary in the first place to know something of the latest 
development in rural church federation. To keep in contact 
with this movement address a letter to the secretary of the 
Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, as 
directed in the rural progress directory of this book, request- 
ing a copy of the report of the last conference and stating that 
special information is desired upon country church federa- 
tion. As a general clearing house for information upon coun- 
try church progress and for numerous leaflets, address Dr. 
Warren H. Wilson, Superintendent of the Presbyterian De- 
partment of Church and Country Life, at 156 Fifth Avenue, 
New York. 

Country teachers living in states now organized for church 
federation should by all means keep in contact with the devel- 
opment of the movement in their own state, and those living 
in states not yet organized should inform themselves con- 
cerning the federative idea so as to hasten the approach 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 69 

of better harmony and saner cooperation among the various 
denominations. Officers of these state federations and of 
other country church organizations may be found in the 
rural progress directory of this book or may be obtained from 
the Federal Council of Churches. Because of its pedagogical 
suggestion and efficient leadership, if for no other reason, 
every country teacher should study the work of the County 
Department of the Young Men's Christian Association. Com- 
munication with this field of activity is easily possible. A let- 
ter to Secretary A. E. Roberts of the International Commit- 
tee, at 124 East Twenty-eighth Street, New York, will bring 
a copy of the county work register, from which the address 
of every state and county secretary may be obtained. Corre- 
spondence with these officers will bring leaflets, bulletins, and 
other information which may be further supplemented by 
subscribing for Rural Manhood, the official publication of the 
Association. 

Another reference of the utmost importance for country 
teachers is the official Report of the Country Life Commission. 
Those who do not already possess a copy of this document 
should immediately send ten cents to the Government Print- 
ing Office at Washington and secure one. The full significance 
of the work of this Commission is not yet half realized among 
farmers. It means nothing less than a revolution in future 
country life, and has already ushered in the dawn of a rural 
renascence. Special attention is given to rural religious con- 
ditions in this report, and the few pages devoted to the con- 
sideration of the country church constitute the best summary 
of its status and social influence yet published. 

The Coming Unity Among Churches. It is the general 
impression that farmers as a class are extremely sectarian. 
That this is frequently true in individual instances must be 
confessed; but, upon the whole, farmers are more liberal- 
minded in matters of religion than is commonly realized. 



jo COUNTRY tIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

True, the old farmer was conservative in all things. His 
environment made him so. But the new farmer is a man 
of marked spirituality and generous charity. These new 
farmers and the non-church farmers, many of them, are 
people who are ready for a new type of religion ; who have 
outgrown all petty creeds, and are only waiting to welcome 
the religion of common humanity. Just what this religion 
of the future shall be, the creeds or articles of belief it shall 
possess or not possess, cannot now be determined ; but those 
who believe in its ultimate triumph and in the responsibility 
of the country church for fostering its spirit will be glad to 
read in conclusion the following sentences from a sermon on 
"The Coming Unity," by the Reverend Charles F. Aked, for- 
merly of New York: 

"I conceive the church of the future as taking from all the 
churches, absorbing the best for which all the churches have 
always stood, losing nothing that has been worth retain- 
ing, and doing in her sphere in America what America does 
in her own. As America has not lost in producing in the 
American that which is best in the Englishman or the German 
or the Hollander, so the church will not willingly lose the 
Episcopalian's reverence for order, the Presbyterian's demand 
for accuracy, the fire and fervor of the Methodist, or the con- 
tribution of the Congregationalist and Baptist to civil and 
religious liberty. And the product will be not an Episcopalian 
Baptist, or a Presbyterian Methodist, but a Christian, without 
adjectives and without limitations, heir of all the churches in 
the foremost files of time. 

"... And since I have said these things, I may as well 
go on to tell you a dream of mine. It is only a dream, and 
perhaps no sufficient number of persons are dreaming the 
same thing at the same time to afford any hope that it will 
materialize. 'The dreams that nations dream come true and 
shape the world anew,' but perhaps the dream of an individual 



THE COUNTRY CHURCH 71 

counts for nothing. Yet, though it is only a vision, I will 
cherish it. For I have dared to dream of some great temple 
of the Living God wherein shall gather for worship all good 
men and good women who desire only to worship in spirit 
and in truth. It shall not be Protestant or Catholic. It shall 
not even be Aryan or Semite. It shall be built, if you like, by 
a Christian and endowed by a Jew. It shall learn from the 
prophets of every name whom God has sent to every age 
and people. It shall hold fellowship with all who have purely 
lived and bravely died. It shall unite all who love for the 
sake of all who suffer. In this temple of my dreams many 
shall come from the East and from the West and sit down 
with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ; and the children of the 
Kingdom, howsoever called, shall in no wise be shut out." 



CHAPTER IV 
THE GRANGE 

The Grange as an Agency for Country Life Progress. 

The Grange is an organization among farmers for social and 
educational advancement. Its official title is Patrons of Hus- 
bandry. Though thousands of farmers know nothing of the 
Grange, other thousands fully appreciate its advantages, and 
it stands preeminent today as the representative of American 
agricultural interests. For this reason all country teachers and 
farmers should know of its purpose and work. 

Origin and Purpose. The Grange was conceived and 
founded by Oliver H. Kelley, a native of Boston, who set- 
tled in Minnesota in the later forties. Mr. Kelley wrote 
extensively for the agricultural press of his day, and through 
his writing and general initiative earned a reputation as a 
leader of agricultural thought. In 1866 he was selected by 
the national government to make a tour of inspection through 
the devastated South for the purpose of gaining a knowledge 
of the conditions and resources of that section. What he saw 
convinced him that agricultural cooperation was the medium 
through which peace and harmony would ultimately be 
restored. Soon after his return he interested six others in 
the new idea, and the "seven founders of the order" then per- 
fected and completed the plans of the Grange. Its original 
purpose was twofold: To advance the cause of education 
among farmers, and to cultivate a spirit of peace and brother- 
hood between the North and the South. The second of these 
needs has passed, but the first is innate in social life and is 

72 



THE GRANGE 



73 



the rock upon which the Grange continues to exist. In the 
very beginning the new order assumed national proportions, 
for in 1867 the National Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry 
was organized, and has ever since continued to hold annual 
sessions. 

The best conception of the purpose of the Grange can be 
gained through a study of its Declaration of Purposes, which 
was adopted early in the history of the order, and is still in 
force : 

United by the strong and faithful tie of Agriculture, we mutually 
resolve to labor for the good of our order, our country, and mankind. 

We heartily endorse the motto : "In essentials, unity ; in non-essen- 
tials, liberty; in all things, charity." 

We shall endeavor to advance our cause by laboring to accomplish 
the following objects: 

To develop a better and higher manhood and womanhood among 
ourselves. To enhance the comforts and 
attractions of our homes, and strengthen 
our attachments to our pursuits. To fos- 
ter mutual understanding and cooperation. 

We propose meeting together, talking 
together, working together, buying together, 
selling together, and, in general, acting to- 
gether for our mutual protection and ad- 
vancement, as occasion may require. We 
shall avoid litigation, as much as possible, 
by arbitration in the Grange. We shall con- 
stantly strive- to secure entire harmony, 
good will, and vital brotherhood among 
ourselves, and to make our order per- 
petual. We shall earnestly endeavor to 
suppress personal, local, sectional, and 
national prejudices, all unhealthy rivalry, 
all selfish ambition. Faithful adherence to 
these principles will insure our mental, 
moral, social, and material advancement. For our business interests 
we desire to bring producers and consumers, farmers and manufacturers, 
into the most direct and friendly relations possible. Hence we must 




Oliver H. Kelley 

Founder of the Grange 



74 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

dispense with a surplus of middlemen, not that we are unfriendly to 
them, but we do not need them. Their surplus and their exactions 
diminish our profits. 

We wage no aggressive warfare against any other interests what- 
ever. On the contrary, all our acts and all our efforts, so far as busi- 
ness is concerned, are not only for the benefit of the producer and con- 
sumer, but also for all other interests that tend to bring these two 
parties into speedy and economical contact. Hence we hold that 
transportation companies of every kind are necessary to our success, 
that their interests are intimately connected with our interests. 

We are opposed to such spirit and management of any corporation 
or enterprise as tends to oppress the people, and rob them of their 
just profits. We are not enemies of capital, but we oppose the 
tyranny of monopolies. We long to see the antagonism between 
capital and labor removed by common consent, and by an enlightened 
statesmanship worthy of the nineteenth century. We are opposed to 
excessive salaries, high rates of interest, and exorbitant profits in trade. 

We shall advance the cause of education among ourselves and for 
our children, by all just means within our power. We especially ad- 
vocate for our agricultural and industrial colleges that practical agri- 
culture, domestic science, and all the arts which adorn the home be 
taught in their courses of study. 

We emphatically and sincerely assert the oft-repeated truth taught 
in our organic law, that the Grange — national, state, or subordinate — 
is not a political party organization. No Grange, if true to its obliga- 
tions, can discuss political or religious questions, or call political con- 
ventions, or nominate candidates, or even discuss their merits at its 
meetings. 

We always bear in mind that no one, by becoming a Patron of 
Husbandry, gives up that inalienable right and duty which belongs 
to every American citizen, to take a proper interest in the politics of 
his country. On the contrary, it is his duty to do all he can in his 
own party to put down bribery, corruption, and trickery; to see that 
none but competent, faithful, and honest men, who will unflinchingly 
stand by our industrial interests, are nominated for all positions of 
trust; and to have carried out the principle which should always 
characterize every Patron, that the office should seek the man and not 
the man the office. 

Last, but not least, we proclaim it among our purposes to inculcate 



THE GRANGE 



75 



a proper appreciation of the abilities and sphere of woman, as is indi- 
cated by admitting her to membership and position in our order. 

History. The first grange in the world was organized 
April 1 6, 1868, at Fredonia, in Chautauqua County, New 
York. It is still alive and thriving. From the little group of 
early pioneers in New York, the new order spread in all 











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Centerville Grange Picnic, Winnebago County, Illinois 



directions. Its early growth was so phenomenal as to be 
almost fatal. In the year 1873, over 27,000 granges had been 
established in twenty-eight different states, and the member- 
ship was over half a million. This high tide of early prosper- 
ity, however, was due to a misconception of true Grange 
principles on the part of many who joined. Thousands sought 



j6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

financial betterment under the protection of the order, and 
enrolled for what "there was in it," expecting it to serve the 
ends of a great farmers' trust. Still others hoped to make it 
a ladder of political ambition. Needless to say, these mer- 
cenary and personally ambitious advocates were soon bitterly 
disillusioned, and through their experience arose the disfavor 
and contempt under which the organization has suffered, and 
with which it is sometimes still regarded by those who 
recall the reaction of its early history. Hundreds of the local 
granges organized at this time soon failed, and because of 
these failures many farmers today are under the impression 
that "the Grange is dead." But the Grange is not dead and 
has never been. Even while the foolish financial experi- 
ments in the West were succumbing daily, the organization 
was steadily and honestly gaining a foothold in the East, espe- 
cially in the New England and Middle Atlantic states, which 
has never been endangered. 

During the last twenty years, a new and firmer growth 
has repaired all the old losses. The increase in member- 
ship during the decade following 1890 was about seventy-five 
per cent, while that of the year 1908 was ten per cent. Twenty- 
eight states were represented at the National Grange of 1910, 
and the order is now established in thirty-five states, and 
enrolls a total membership of over one million. In New 
York alone, the state reports record 690 subordinate and 
forty-five county granges, enrolling about 82,000 members. 
Those who imagine the Grange is dead need but to investigate 
a few statistics relating to its present status to become con- 
vinced of their error. 

Organization. The unit of organization in the Patrons 
of Husbandry is the local or subordinate grange. A subordi- 
nate grange is supposed to include one township, or to cover 
the area within a five or six mile radius of its location, but 
the amount of territory involved is variable, depending wholly 



THE GRANGE 



77 



upon local conditions. Every subordinate grange meets at 
least twice a month. The subordinate granges of a county, or 
other given district, often organize themselves into a larger 
unit, known as the Pomona Grange. The Pomona Grange 
must meet at least quarterly. Its meetings are usually occa- 
sions of much enthusiasm and are often converted into social 
rallies and campaigns for increased membership and the good 
of the order. The State Grange, as the name indicates, is the 
state representative of the order. It holds annual meetings 
to which each subordinate grange sends delegates. The 
National Grange is the authoritative head of the organization. 
It convenes once a year, in a session lasting usually about ten 
days, to consider matters of national importance. State mas- 
ters and their wives, or husbands, are delegates to this con- 
vention. A special feature of the order, now coming into 
prominence, is the juvenile grange, a subdivision organized 
for the benefit of children. Boys and girls are allowed to 
join the subordinate grange when fourteen years of age, but 
it has seemed advisable to interest them in the movement 
even younger, and the plans now developing for such work 
are full of promise. 

The head official of a grange, whether local, county, state, or 
national, is the master, who exercises all the duties of a presi- 
dent. Twelve other officers are required to handle the work of 
the ritual, of whom the lecturer is the most important. It 
is often said, and with truth, that the success of a grange 
depends upon the lecturer. In fact, the work and responsi- 
bility of the organization may be considered in two phases: 
the financial and business side, for which the master is respon- 
sible, and the social and educational side, for which the lec- 
turer must provide. The lecturer makes the programs, plans 
the socials and special meetings, introduces most of the new 
ideas of growth, and in every way exercises more influence 
upon the order than any other individual. The ritual is a 



78 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

beautiful and impressive ceremony permeated throughout by 
an exalted religious spirit and a strong love of nature. It 
provides seven degrees, the first four being conferred in the 
subordinate grange, the fifth in the Pomona, the sixth in the 
State, and the last in the National Grange. The secrecy of 
the order is slightly objectionable to some, but the little 
secrecy involved relates to nothing more than passwords and 
a few fraternal signs which need be feared by none. A minor 
point of grange custom, that should be mentioned for its 
marked influence upon members, is the recess or social hour. 
Nothing about the organization contributes more to its popu- 
larity and power than this visiting period. All prosperous 
granges own their own halls, many of which have a dining- 
room and kitchen. 

Work and Influence. But more important, by far, than 
the history and plan of Grange organization is its work and 
influence for the social and educational advancement of farm 
life. "To enumerate the achievements of the Grange," says 
Kenyon L. Butterfield, in his Chapters in Rural Progress, 
"would be to recall the progress of agriculture during the last 
third of a century." The Grange as an organization is capable 
of speaking authoritatively for farm interests. This it has 
done for the last twenty-five years, touching upon questions 
of both national and international significance. The national 
Department of Agriculture, state agricultural colleges and 
experiment stations, farmers' institutes, pure food laws, the 
rural delivery of mail, the Interstate Commerce Commission, 
the denatured alcohol bill, and the postal savings bank, are 
some of the measures that trace their origin and development 
to Grange influence. Among the present-day issues favored 
by the last National Grange in 1912 were a parcels post, 
woman suffrage, stringent forest reserve laws, the improve- 
ment of waterways, and federal aid for road building. Thus, 
the Grange exerts legislative influence, but it is in no sense 



THE GRANGE 79 

a political party. Any political ambitions ever nourished 
within the order have invariably proved fatal, and a question 
is now shunned the moment it becomes a political issue. This 
policy is necessarily restricting, but experience has shown its 




Farmers' Club, Logan County, Illinois 

Such a farmers' club may be easily converted into a subordinate Grange 

wisdom. National Grange opinion is now crystallized in the 
publication of a paper, the National Grange Monthly, which not 
only advocates movements of progress but summarizes the 
work done by the order throughout the country. 

In a financial and business way, the Grange still does some 
things, though the stores, factories, wholesale houses, and 
financial schemes of its early progenitors are now efforts of 
the past. In several states, especially in New York and 
New Hampshire, strong insurance companies now operate 
under Grange control, while in Kansas, provision for cyclone 



80 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

insurance meets a frequently felt need. Pennsylvania has 
recently undertaken a Grange banking system which has stead- 
ily grown in favor and has resulted thus far in the estab- 
lishment of fourteen national banks. Cooperative buying is 
practiced quite extensively in Michigan and Maine, though 
cooperative selling has so far proved unsuccessful. In Wis- 
consin and other dairy states, Grange creameries and cheese 
factories are not uncommon, while telephone lines belonging 
to the order are to be found in almost every state where the 
society is organized. 

But the educational and social work of the Grange is the 
chief source of its life and existence, and is of far greater 
importance than any other effort undertaken by it. Wherever 
the Grange is well established, it revolutionizes the life of 
a community. The very nature of the gatherings, with their 
discussions and recesses, all permeated with the spirit of fra- 
ternity, banishes isolation and its evil effects. In the educa- 
tional work of the order agriculture is particularly empha- 
sized. But Grange education is not limited to matters of agri- 
culture alone. It covers all fields of mental activity, and 
science, history, literature, and the fine arts are given due 
prominence on Grange programs. The organization virtually 
becomes a school, and many members acknowledge it as the 
source of their greatest educational opportunity. Ability to 
write, to think clearly, and to stand up and express thought 
accurately, soon becomes well developed in experienced "gran- 
gers." In the broader fields of educational advancement, the 
Grange has also done much. Agricultural education, the con- 
solidation of schools, and all other movements of vital educa- 
tional significance have always had its hearty support. Most 
state granges now support standing educational committees 
which study the educational conditions of the state and report 
annually to the order. 

But no discussion of the work and influence of the Grange, 



THE GRANGE 8 1 

however inadequate, is complete without some consideration 
of what it has done for women. Of all fraternal orders the 
Grange, so far as known, was the first to recognize women 
fully. Other orders have their allied organizations for 
women, but it remained for the Grange to cast aside all 
shackles of prejudice and first admit them to full member- 
ship. This movement was a great forward step, especially at 
the time of its adoption in 1867, and the credit of its incor- 
poration is due to the leading woman spirit among the early 
founders, Miss Caroline Hall. All the offices of the Grange, 
as previously stated, are open to women, and four can be 
held by them only. The lecturers are usually women, which 
places much of the responsibility of the order upon women. 
The office of state lecturer in Michigan has been filled for 
years by women, who have revolutionized the educational work 
of the organization during their service. For several years 
Minnesota has elected a woman for state master. Among 
other early provisions that have had great effect upon Grange 
women is the system of representation established. Every del- 
egate to both the state and the national Grange is a dual dele- 
gate, a man and his wife, or a woman and her husband, and 
the influence of the traveling this necessitates is apparent 
among the women of Grange circles everywhere. The Na- 
tional Grange has repeatedly and unanimously indorsed woman 
suffrage. Women serve on Grange committees, freely pro- 
claim their opinions on Grange floors, and in all things and 
at all times have the full support and championship of the 
order in matters relating to their welfare. 

The Subordinate Grange at Work: Magnolia Grange, 
Putnam County, Illinois. Perhaps the best understanding 
of Grange work and influence can be gained through the 
study of a typical subordinate grange. Magnolia Grange, in 
Putnam County, Illinois, is a fair type of the hundreds of 
subordinate granges now at work over the country. This 



82 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



grange is one of the few survivors of those organized during 
the high tide of Grange prosperity in 1873. 

The people of the Magnolia community are chiefly enter- 
prising Friends, or Quakers, who emigrated to Illinois in the 
early pioneer days from Ohio and Pennsylvania. With them 
they brought not only a true appreciation of the value of edu- 
cation, but a proper conception of the social basis upon which 
all education rests. They had known the congenial social 
farm life across the Alleghanies, and they determined to trans- 















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Magnolia Grange Fair, Putnam County, Illinois 

Fairs of this type become great forces for the redirection of country life 



plant the same spirit to the prairies of the West. This they 
have done through the development of three agencies, the 
church, the school, and the Grange, of which the Grange, in 
their opinion, has been the most influential. 

Meetings of the organization are held on alternate Satur- 
day afternoons in the Grange hall, a comfortable, convenient 
building provided for the purpose, and located on one of the 
scenic spots in the township. This building is simply and 
artistically furnished with chairs, rugs, reading tables, pic- 



THE GRANGE 83 

tures, cases for books and museum collections, and an organ. 
It is further provided with a dining-room and kitchen whose 
ranges, cooking utensils, dishes, and silverware, make possible 
the famous "Grange dinners" so popular throughout the 
countryside. The programs of the meetings are prepared and 
printed a year in advance, each member appearing for at least 
one number during the year. Papers, debates, musical num- 
bers, and the ritualistic work form a chief part of these pro- 
grams, but their most helpful feature is the open discussion 
of questions to which time is allotted at every meeting. This 
question-box is very simple in its management, the written 
questions being read by the lecturer and addressed to particu- 
lar individuals for answer. Others who desire may partici- 
pate in the discussion, but each speaker is required to stand 
on his feet and speak directly to his hearers. This practice has 
contributed more to the educational growth of the members 
and developed more self-reliance among the men and women 
of the community than any other single force in their lives. 
The written work, also, has been especially educative in its 
requirements, particularly among the women and younger 
members of the organization. Among the topics treated on 
recent programs are the following, which show the range and 
character of the work done : opportunities in farming, system 
on the farm, food and food adulterants, decoration in the 
farm home, woman's coming greatness, the hurry habit, prac- 
tical philanthrophy, and the farmer's civic duties. 

The social and recreative side of Grange influence is also 
well exemplified here. Receptions, special programs, lec- 
tures, big dinners, candy-pulls, picnics, and evening gatherings 
are common occurrences. These not only inculcate interest 
and life in the mature members of the order, but prove 
attractive to the young people, whose youth and fresh inter- 
ests are the greatest source of strength in any healthy grange. 

The chief business venture undertaken by the Magnolia 



84 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Grange at present is the annual "Grange Fair." This fair 
supplants the usual county fair. Special buildings and sheds 
have been built on the grounds for its convenience. Among 
these is a large floral hall where fruit, vegetable, and grain 
exhibits are made each year. Sewing, canned fruit, bread, 
cake, and other special household products are also given due 
attention. Nor are the children neglected. School exhibits 
always form an important part of this display, and special 
prizes are awarded for individual pieces of educational work. 
Perhaps the most popular entries are those relating to live 
stock and the management of horses. Prizes are given for 
rapid hitching and unhitching, for good horsemanship and 
riding, and for all other activities connected with the control 
of horses. This brings in hundreds of young people who 
thus learn to dignify the simple, homely tasks of the farm, 
and who, through weeks and months of preparation, center 
their interest and attention upon farm topics. Fairs of this 
type become valuable agencies for the proper redirection of 
country life. 

The influence of the Magnolia Grange throughout the forty 
years since its establishment cannot be computed. The Clear 
Creek neighborhood, as the community is locally called, is 
always known and remembered by all who come in contact 
with it for its unusual progressiveness and sincere social 
spirit. The silent force of Grange influence, so long at work 
here, has recently taken material form in the erection of the 
John Swaney Consolidated School, described in Chapter VIII. 
This school, with its beautiful large building, its laboratories, 
library, assembly hall, experiment plots, and campus of twenty- 
four acres, originated in the Grange. Mr. John Swaney, 
whose name it bears, and who donated the land on which it 
stands, has been a most active member of the order for over 
thirty-five years, and it is beyond question that without the 
Grange there could have been no John Swaney School. 



THE GRANGE 85 

Words of Warning to the Grange. But, with all its 
splendid progress and healthy growth, the Grange, like all 
other institutions, may make mistakes. Two errors of present 
policy have been recently pointed out by President Kenyon 
L. Butterfield of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture. 
One of these is the old danger of allowing anti-agriculturists, 
or those not interested in farming, to join. This practice is 
said to be steadily growing in eastern states and to be under- 
mining the unity and harmony of the order. The other danger 
named by President Butterfield, and a more general one, is 
that of allowing the local grange to become a small clique 
or self-centered group in the neighborhood, rather than a true 
community institution, working for the common welfare of 
both members and non-members. These words of warning 
from the leading rural sociologist of the nation, who is also a 
member of the Grange, certainly merit the consideration and 
reflection of every Grange worker who has the welfare of the 
order and the best development of farm life at heart. 

Farmers' Clubs. Farmers' clubs have been organized in 
many sections of the country and have been found to fulfill 
well the demand for social and educational cooperation among 
farmers. Their efficiency for this purpose, however, seldom 
compares with that of a prosperous grange. All that the club 
can possibly do, the subordinate grange does, and more. For 
while farmers' clubs may become agencies of pleasant 
social relationship and great educational advancement, they 
are generally limited to local influence, and the broader rela- 
tionships represented in the Grange by the state and national 
divisions have no parallel in their organization. In a dormant 
or prejudiced community, however, it is frequently very much 
easier to start a club than to establish a grange. Later, with 
the help of a deputy or the state master, after the members 
are sufficiently prepared to see the advantages of Grange or- 
ganization, such a club may be converted into a subordinate 



86 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



grange. The late Superintendent Frank Hall, of the Illinois 
State Farmers' Institute, once said that the establishment of 
at least one farmers' club in every township of Illinois would 
make inconceivable changes in the conditions of farm life over 
the state; but it is safe to assert that the establishment of a 
subordinate grange in each township would show even greater 
results, as all who understand the full breadth and possibilities 
of grange organization can appreciate. 




Harvesting Picnic, Farmers' Clubs of De Kalb County, Illinois 



One of the best examples of what is possible in the way of 
farmers' club development is to be found in the work of 
Mr. H. H. Parke, a local farmer and institute director of 
DeKalb County, Illinois. In writing of his efforts, Mr. Parke 
says: 

During the fall and winter of 1910 in DeKalb County, seven Town- 
ship Farmers' Clubs, with a total membership of over six hundred 



THE GRANGE 87 

farmers, merchants and bankers, were organized. These are directly 
associated with the County Farmers' Institute by a director from each 
club, thus forming a much stronger and more effective organization. 
Each member becomes an integral part of the County Farmers' Insti- 
tute and is cemented to it by a membership fee of $1.00. The ultimate 
object is to establish a farmers' club in each township in the county. 

The purpose of these clubs is to promote the work of the Farmers' 
Institute, to more rapidly disseminate agricultural information, and to 
establish community centers for the discussion of community problems. 
Each club aims to hold about one meeting a month. In all twenty-six 
meetings have been held within the last five months. The attendance 
of each meeting has varied from one hundred to five hundred en- 
thusiastic people. The programs cater to the interests of a rural or- 
ganization. Annually each club holds an election and banquet with a 
suitable program for the occasion. 

These clubs, less than a year old, are already harvesting results. 
They are reaping the rewards of organized effort. Renewed interests 
and more intelligent direction of farm operations are marked in the 
vicinities of the clubs. One finds fewer weeds in the fence corners, 
cleaner lawns, more neatly dressed families, more pride in every way; a 
better social spirit exists ; distances between farms have been blotted 
out by a more neighborly feeling. 

Social, moral and educational standards have been raised. More 
cooperative undertakings have arisen among the club members. In two 
or three instances the standard of political officials has been raised. 
One club officer has interested the boys in his township in growing 
corn by offering $25.00 for the best acre of corn. 

Another club member, one of our earnest and most tactful workers, 
planned a farmers' picnic with the apparent purpose of getting his ten- 
acre field of wheat harvested. This picnic was advertised far and wide, 
in local and in state papers. Each picnicker was permitted to bring his 
choice of weapons for attacking the wheat. It was a gala day. The 
white-haired pioneer brought his sickle; the middle-aged man the self- 
rake reaper and the Marsh harvester, and the young man the self 
binder, the masterpiece of modern invention. The inspiration of the 
meeting cannot be over-estimated. 

One of the strongest forces at work in the clubs is the spirit of 
organization that pervades the atmosphere. Minor and more local 
organizations, social and educational in nature, are springing into ex- 
istence. Each one forms a center for the exchange of ideas. They are 



88 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

stepping stones to community building, and every possible assistance 
and encouragement should be given them. 

Cooperation between the Grange and the Country School. 

Since this book is prepared primarily for the benefit of country 
teachers, it is appropriate to conclude this chapter by empha- 
sizing the teacher's opportunity for awakening a greater 
appreciation of the advantages of social and educational coop- 
eration among farmers. Of all individuals in the country 
community, none, as set forth later, are more naturally 
expected or better placed to assume the responsibility of lead- 
ership than the teacher. It therefore devolves upon country 
teachers to acquaint themselves with the work and purposes of 
the great socializing agencies now playing an important part 
in the development of American farm life, and to impart this 
information as thoroughly as they impart the subject-matter 
of arithmetic or history. Of these agencies, none is more 
important than the Grange, and country teachers, being of 
late years admitted to membership, should join the Grange 
when opportunity affords, and do what they can toward the 
establishment of new local orders. 

Relationship with the officials of the Grange may be estab- 
lished by writing for a sample copy of the National Grange 
Monthly, which is published in Westfield, Massachusetts. 
From this publication can be obtained the name of the National 
Grange master, who may then be addressed for a copy of the 
proceedings of the last National Grange. The national mas- 
ter at the present time (1912) is Mr. Oliver Wilson, of Peoria, 
Illinois, but as the office is elective, a more permanent medium 
of connection through the national paper is suggested. Every 
volume of annual proceedings contains the name and address 
of each state master, who may then be asked for further infor- 
mation, and whose fidelity to the order will always make him 
eager to cooperate in the organization of new granges. Assist- 
ance can thus be directly obtained from the state master, or 



THE GRANGE 89 

from a deputy to whom he will refer, and the proper manage- 
ment of the undertaking is assured. Teachers need not 
trouble themselves with the details of organization. Organ- 
izers especially trained and fitted for this will be sent by the 
state master. It is rather the teacher's task to prepare the 
way, and arouse a desire for such organization. All state 
granges publish literature which may be procured and dis- 
tributed to create a Grange sentiment. 



CHAPTER V 

FARMERS' INSTITUTES AND THE AGRICUL- 
TURAL PRESS 

Farmers' Institutes as an Agency for Country Life 
Progress. Crop rotation, nitrogen producing bacteria, and 
the fertilization of soils are today household expressions in 
every farm home. Their utterance would have conveyed but 
little meaning, however, to the average farmer of forty 
years ago. This means that great strides have been made 
in the popular dissemination of agricultural knowledge during 
the last few decades. It means that the mass of American 
farmers have developed from imitating tillers of the soil into 
independent, responsible agriculturists. In this evolution no 
agency has been more effective than the farmers' institute. 

Origin and History of Farmers' Institutes. It is not the 
purpose here to give a detailed history of the farmers' insti- 
tute but rather to emphasize a few facts necessary to its bet- 
ter understanding as an agency of progress in the expansion 
of farm life. Typical farmers' institutes as we know them 
today are a product of the last twenty-five years. Unlike 
the Grange, the early beginnings of the institute movement 
developed so gradually and obscurely that its origin is hard 
to trace. Its first impetus seems to have come from numerous 
farmers' clubs and agricultural societies organized through 
the East early in the history of the country. The one point 
of especial interest concerning its origin is the fact that it 
sprang directly from the felt needs and demands of the 
people. 

In 1785 there was organized in Philadelphia an agricultural 

90 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 91 

society known as the Philadelphia Society for the Promotion 
of Agriculture. This was probably the first organization of 
its kind in this country, though New York claims to have 
maintained more than a dozen similar societies over a century 
ago, and authentic records prove the existence of a thriving 
farmers' club in Rockingham, New Hampshire, as early as 
1814. In Maine, also, local agricultural interests were organ- 
ized early, and by 1833 farmers' clubs were common. One 
of the most interesting of these early societies, known as the 
Farmers' Club of Sandy Spring, was organized at Brook 
Grove, Maryland, in 1844. This club is remarkable in that 
from the date of its origin to the present time it has met 
regularly with only six omissions and has kept full records 
covering the transactions of these years. 

Massachusetts was naturally among the earliest states to 
further the development of the farmers' institute idea. The 
first action in this direction was brought about here through 
the efforts of the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion 
of Agriculture, which was organized in 1792. Official atten- 
tion was not given to the work here, however, until 1852, 
when the Massachusetts State Board of Agriculture, in the 
first year of its establishment, appointed a committee to con- 
sider the promotion of agricultural interests in the state by 
means of public lectures. At the next meeting of the board, 
in 1853, Dr. Hitchcock, of Amherst College, who had been 
favorably impressed with the idea of institutes among teachers, 
read a paper on farmers' institutes in which he advocated 
similar organizations for farmers and outlined a suggestive 
course of lectures. This was probably the first time that 
the term institute had been applied to a gathering of farmers. 
Notwithstanding the practicability of this suggestion, the 
matter was legally neglected by the state until 1879, when 
laws requiring the convention of such agricultural gatherings 
were finally enacted. 



92 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



The history of the movement in Ohio is also significant, 
not only because of its early development but because the 
present institute system, extending the work to all the coun- 
ties of a state, matured here. An early pioneer of agricultural 
education, Dr. N. S. Townsend, who later became dean of the 
State Agricultural College, seems to have conceived the idea 
of farmers' institutes about 1845, even earlier than Dr. Hitch- 
cock, of Massachusetts. According to his own account the 
plan was suggested to him through medical clinics. Since 




Midsummer Farmers' Institute, Illinois College of Agriculture, Urbana 



there were then but eighty-four miles of railroad in Ohio, 
and the present system of institutes was wholly impractical, 
Dr. Townsend labored for years with unflagging zeal for the 
promulgation of his idea through farmers' clubs and agricul- 
tural societies. It was chiefly through his efforts that these 
organizations and others of a similar nature developed so rap- 
idly and effectively in Ohio, and eventually came to mold 
the character of the permanent state system of farmers' insti- 
tutes by making the county the unit of organization. 

It must not be inferred from the accounts given here that 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



93 



Massachusetts and Ohio were alone in the development of 
the farmers' institute. Similar pioneer growths had been 
planted simultaneously in all the eastern, and many of the 
northern states. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Con- 
necticut, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, in the East, and Michi- 
gan, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, farther west, 
were all active early in the history of the movement and 
contributed much that was original and effective in its un- 
folding. New Hampshire, in the early seventies, conducted 
"public meetings" that did not differ materially from the 
meetings now generally known as farmers' institutes. In Con- 
necticut, a notable event connected with the development of 
the work was a four weeks' agricultural convention held at 
New Haven, in 1869, under the auspices of Yale University. 
Michigan, in 1861, passed a law whereby the State Board of 
Agriculture might provide winter courses of lectures for 
others than students of the State Agricultural College. Thus 
the Michigan Agricultural College was probably the first edu- 
cational institution in this country to receive legal authority 
for carrying instruction to farmers. 

In Illinois the first institute of which authentic records 
appear was held in 1869, under the auspices of the Illinois 
Industrial University at Champaign, the institution which 
later became the State University and Agricultural College. 
This was one of the earliest large agricultural gatherings in 
the Middle West. "Thus was inaugurated," says Dr. L. D. 
Morse, then secretary of the Missouri Agricultural Society, 
"a new and most important movement in western agricultural 
education." 

Organization of Farmers' Institutes. Unlike the Grange, 
the farmers' institute is not an elaborate scheme carefully 
designed and worked out by a good organizer. It is the 
outgrowth of many minds. The Grange may be said to have 
begun nationally and worked down, while the farmers' insti- 



94 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

tute began locally and worked up. Its democratic and diverse 
origin through the development of farmers' clubs, agricultural 
societies, and other local organizations accounts for the inter- 
esting fact that no two states have institutes managed in 
just the same way. The different types of management may 
be roughly classified, however, under two general heads : 
(i) those under government control; (2) those under the con- 
trol of the state agricultural college or experiment station. 

Governmental control is of four general kinds. It may 
place the institutes under the direction of the State Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, as in Pennsylvania and New York ; or in 
the hands of an independent state officer, as in Wisconsin; 
or it may direct them under county organization, as in Illi- 
nois and Iowa ; or through the agency of agricultural societies, 
as in Ohio. The states of the Union are almost evenly divided 
under these two general types of administration. In the older 
eastern states where the work originated chiefly before the 
day of agricultural colleges governmental control prevails; 
but in the West and Middle West college control is more 
common. 

In 1903, the importance which farmers' institute work had 
assumed was recognized by the national government in the 
appointment of a Farmers' Institute Specialist in the United 
States Department of Agriculture. This official gives all his 
time to the study and promotion of farmers' institutes through- 
out the country and acts not only as a general organizer 
and adviser for the several states but collects statistics, pub- 
lishes bulletins, and studies agricultural education in foreign 
countries. The creation of this office placed farmers' insti- 
tutes on a national basis corresponding to the national divi- 
sion of Grange organization. Each state is centrally organ- 
ized and is supervised by a trained officer, generally desig- 
nated as the director or superintendent of farmers' institutes. 
The state organization is usually subdivided into county insti- 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



95 



tutes which correspond to the Pomona Grange, though in some 
states, as in Illinois, an intervening unit based on the state 
congressional districts is employed. Village institutes and 
district farmers' clubs represent the local unit of the system, 
and are therefore analogous to the subordinate grange. State 
institute meetings or "round-up" institutes are held annually 




Interurban Exhibit Cars from the Illinois College of Agriculture 



in most states. County institutes also convene usually but 
once a year. Meetings of the local organizations are held 
at least yearly and often quarterly, or even more frequently. 
A special feature of unusual interest in farmers' institute 
administration is the American Association of Farmers' Insti- 
tute Workers. This body, as the name suggests, is an asso- 
ciation of institute lecturers, instructors, and officers, organ- 
ized for the purpose of exchanging ideas and advancing the 
general welfare of institute work. It meets annually and its 



q6 COUNTRY LIFE AXD THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

proceedings are published in the form of bulletins by the 
United States Department of Agriculture. 

Present Status and Progress. Farmers' institutes now 
exist in practically even- state and territory of the United 
States and throughout Canada. The annual attendance at 
farmers' institutes in the United States now numbers over 
two millions, and nearly a half million dollars is appropriated 
yearly by the several states for conducting the work. In 19 10 
over five thousand regular institute meetings were held 
throughout the country. The following table prepared by 
Farmers' Institute Specialist John Hamilton, from the sta- 
tistical reports for 1910, gives an idea of the present signifi- 
cance of the organization in some of the leading institute 
states : 

Institutes 
State Held Sessions Cost Attendance 

Illinois 163 792 $44,468.23 231,732 

Indiana 354 1218 20.785.00 203.910 

Iowa 83 564 14,764.25 117,550 

Kansas 247 782 25.366.66 10,044 

Michigan 403 1 136 ; 76c v; 149. 602 

"; York 309 1 170 27,500.00 149.450 

Y 324 1620 21.250.00 421,040 

Pennsylvania 202 1061 20,000.00 161,696 

While it is not the purpose of this treatment to attempt a 
detailed study of all that the farmers' institute is doing, slight 
mention of some of its chief characteristic features and inno- 
vations in the different states will give a more appreciative 
understanding of the organization as an agency of progress 
in the betterment of farm life. 

Normal institutes. Among the most effective of these fea- 
tures are the "normal institutes," which are now convened 
in many states at the beginning of the institute season for 
the benefit of state instructors and lecturers. These meetings 
are held under the auspices of state agricultural colleges and 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



97 



experiment stations and frequently continue for several weeks. 
They were first inaugurated in New York at Cornell Univer- 
sity in 1899. Several state agricultural colleges, particularly 
the Massachusetts College of Agriculture at Amherst, and 
Cornell College of Agriculture at Ithaca, New York, have 
gone farther and now offer special training courses for 
farmers' institute instructors. 

Institutes for women. Separate institutes for women and 
special provisions for the development of household science 
are now a characteristic feature of institute organization in 
the more progressive states. Minnesota and Wisconsin early 
initiated separate meetings for women, and Michigan a little 
later developed the "women's section." Wholly separate insti- 
tutes for women are now held in Indiana and in Ontario. 
Illinois leads all other states at present, however, in the 
development of women's interests through the farmers' insti- 
tute. Here the question of holding separate institutes for 
women has never been presented. The Illinois Association 
of Household Science, which represents the home interests 
of the state, is closely affiliated with the farmers' institute and 
has placed local organizations in every county. 

Institute work for young people. Every movement that 
expects to gain a firm foothold among any people must look 
to the education of the children. This truth has lately been 
recognized by both the Grange and the farmers' institute, and 
boys' and girls' institutes have been planned in several states. 
In New York one period at every session of each institute, 
known as the "children's hour," is devoted to the interests 
of young people. In corn-growing states, corn- judging con- 
tests have been introduced, which are being made educative 
rather than competitive affairs. Nebraska seems to lead in 
the organization of institutes for farm children. Here the 
work has been established in over thirty counties and a state 
appropriation is allowed for its support. The girls work 



9 8 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

with bread and sewing, the boys with corn, and about ten 
thousand young people have been enlisted in the movement. 
Several counties in Illinois, particularly Sangamon, Piatt, and 
Winnebago counties, have such clubs for school children. 

Another interesting effort for reaching young people through 
farmers' institutes is the "Grout Farm Encampment." This 
unique and practical idea is the work of Mr. A. P. Grout, of 
Winchester, Illinois. The encampment is held annually 
on Mr. Grout's farm for all the boys of Scott county who can 




Household Science Department at the National Corn Exposition, 
Columbus, Ohio, 191 1 



attend. Lodging is provided in large tents and meals and 
instruction are furnished free. The outing continues for a 
week and is attended every year by from fifty to one hundred 
boys, who gladly embrace its opportunity for education and 
recreation. 

Demonstration work and exhibit trains. Demonstration 
work has been a familiar idea among farmers' institute in- 
structors for many years, but it is recently being enlarged to 
include several new lines of work. Illustrative material in 
the shape of living animals, specimens, charts, and lantern 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



99 



slides, and excursions to farms, factories, and particu- 
lar sites are now quite common. Field demonstrations in 
which the instructor conducts classes out of doors are famil- 
iar also. In Michigan, Kansas, Virginia, Washington, and 
elsewhere special institute trains have been employed for pur- 
poses of demonstration. These cars are fitted up with ex- 
hibits of fruit, cereals, and grain, and run through the 
different sections of the state. Large audiences attend the 
lectures of the specialists who accompany them. 




The Grout Encampment for Farm Boys 



Movable schools. Thus far farmers' institutes have not 
attempted to give regular systematic instruction. "Right 
here," says Institute Specialist John Hamilton, "is where the 
present system seems to fail." To meet this deficiency a new 
device, the movable school of agriculture, has been intro- 
duced. These schools are common throughout Europe and 
differ but little from the familiar "short courses" frequently 
offered in this country. The method of their management is 



IOo COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

very simple. The state director or superintendent arranges in 
advance at the different institute centers for the formation 
of classes numbering from ten to fifteen persons who have a 
common interest in a certain topic, and agree to attend faith- 
fully upon a course of lectures and to participate in such 
practical work as the course prescribes. Trained specialists 
then visit these classes and offer instruction after the man- 
ner of a regular school for one, two, or three weeks. Thus 
the instructors, rather than the schools, are the movable fea- 
ture. In Iowa, work of this character has been conducted 
for some time through the initiative of the State Agricultural 
College at Ames. Pennsylvania also has attempted the mov- 
able school idea with marked success. 

Summer institutes and agricultural chautauquas. Although 
winter is the season most commonly employed for the con- 
vention of farmers' institutes and other farm gatherings, sum- 
mer work has been found profitable and convenient in sev- 
eral states. In Indiana eight summer institutes were recently 
held for farmers' wives and children. Illinois has lately 
adopted the practice of holding an annual "Midsummer Farm- 
ers' Institute" at the State College of Agriculture to show 
the crop experiments in operation at this season. Minnesota, 
in 1906, conducted a farmers' summer school one week in 
duration, at which the attendance was over four hundred 
and where from ten to twelve hours' instruction was offered 
each day. Kansas accomplished the same end through an 
agricultural chautauqua held in 1907, which continued through 
ten sessions with an attendance of over two thousand. Sev- 
eral states, among others New York and Ohio, have success- 
fully inaugurated farmers' institute traveling libraries as 
another means of promoting farm interests and extending 
agricultural education. 

The Agricultural Press as a Rural Socializing Agency. 
But the farmers' institute with its many papers, discussions, 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 101 

and bulletins would lose more than half its effect if it were 
not for the agricultural press, and in any treatment of the 
forces now at work in the socialization of farm life, due con- 
sideration must be taken of this most important agency. 

Rural life literature is of two kinds, the purely agricultural, 
or that relating to soils, crops, stock, and the science of 
farming, and the social, or that relating to rural institutions, 
and to the farmer's community relationships. Most rural 
literature is purely agricultural. It is only very recently 
that the social and institutional side of farm life has begun 
to receive attention. Bulletins, especially those issued by the 
United States Department of Agriculture, are for the most 
part technically agricultural. These bulletins meet a most 
urgent need, but there is also a field for social farm litera- 
ture that might well be cultivated. Literature of this charac- 
ter, designed to make farmers see some of their larger social 
relationships as individuals in the community life, would di- 
rect attention into most productive channels. The additional 
gratuitous distribution of such bulletins by the United States 
Department of Agriculture would be probably the most direct 
method at present of impressing upon farmers the latent 
possibilities of the home, church, school, and farm organiza- 
tion, in the social regeneration of country life. 

Newspapers deserve special mention in any consideration 
of the agricultural press, because of their influence and gen- 
eral circulation. Not every farmer reads bulletins, books, or 
even farm journals, but scarcely a farm home can be found 
anywhere which is not visited at least once a week by the 
local newspaper. This makes the daily and weekly news 
sheet a most convenient instrument for the distribution of 
ideas of rural progress, and places the editors of even small 
country papers in the position of leaders. 

The tardiness of agricultural journals in responding to 
the social evolution of country life is somewhat surprising. 



102 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Careful observation and a somewhat extended investigation 
have revealed practically no agricultural journals devoting 
adequate space to the school, church, farmers' organization, 
and other social phases of farm living. Agricultural editors, 
for the most part, do not as yet seem to appreciate the full 
significance and need of current literature of this type. In 
this connection it is a pleasure to cite the splendid leadership 
of Mr. Arthur J. Bill, agricultural editor of the Illinois Farm- 
ers' Institute for many years, whose ideal of rural journalism 
as a formative force in agriculture, embracing all interests of 
the country community, is at present attaining realization 
through the Farmers' Voice, of Bloomington, Illinois. 

The chief need of the rural press at the present writing 
is for a thoroughly reliable, first class magazine, devoted to 
the progress and development of the social side of country 
life. Such a periodical would be of immeasurable service 
to those now engaged in the upbuilding of various rural insti- 
tutions and would tend to correlate effort and preserve a 
balance in the work being done. A magazine of this type, to 
fulfill its mission in the best way, should represent both gen- 
eral and local work and should stand consistently for the 
complete, fully rounded development of the country community 
in all its aspects. The phrase "Country Community Building" 
might well serve as a name for such a prospective publication. 
This, at least, should be its ideal. 

Farmers' Institutes and the Country School. It is the 
special purpose of these pages to impress the cooperation of 
the country school with all rural forces in a federation for 
progress. Such cooperation on the part of the school and 
the farmers' institute is especially desirable. The first stages 
of this working harmony must come through the personal 
influence of the teacher. Unless she assumes the right atti- 
tude toward other institutions and agencies, the children under 
her charge are not likely to appreciate them. When the county 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 103 

or local institute meeting is advertised, the teacher should 
discuss the program with the children of the school, urge the 
older ones to attend and to influence their parents to attend 
where this is necessary, and in every way encourage co- 
operative effort between the two institutions. In view of the 
fact that not one farmer in twenty-five yet attends institutes, 
the desirability of this training for the young is apparent. 

The output of the farmers' institute press may be made a 
second means through which much quiet work can be done 
toward this end. Newspaper reports, magazine articles, and 
especially the bulletins and annual state institute reports are 
useful for this purpose. These state reports contain so many 
valuable agricultural articles that they should be found on 
the shelves of every country school. They may be obtained 
without cost by addressing the director or superintendent of 
the state farmers' institute. Useful bulletins are obtainable 
in the same way. 

A third most effective means of gaining this desired co- 
operation is afforded through joint farmers' and teachers' 
institutes. In some states the custom of dismissing the coun- 
try schools and of allowing teachers and older pupils to at- 
tend the annual county farmers' institute is generally prac- 
ticed. Such a policy is productive of the most gratifying 
results and is one of the most effective methods yet derived 
for bringing about educational reforms. 

In Ohio, Illinois, and New York, farmers' institute travel- 
ing libraries afford an excellent opportunity for cooperation 
between the school and the institute. These libraries are 
shipped in strong boxes and loaned to any country school in 
the state requesting them for a period of several weeks. Kan- 
sas, Delaware, and Illinois have found schoolhouse meetings 
in local country districts of great value in furthering the inter- 
ests of both the school and the institute. These meetings are of 
various types but always deal largely with agricultural topics 



104 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



and are thus a potent influence for the introduction of agricul- 
ture into the common schools. Men, women, and children 
all turn out to these gatherings and find points of common 
interest. 

Another interesting development in farmers' institute and 
school cooperation occurred in DeKalb County, Illinois, in the 
winter of 1907, when the Northern Illinois State Normal 
School, through the suggestion of the late Superintendent 
Frank Hall, opened its doors to the local county institute and 




Boys' Corn Class, Farmers' Institute, Mercer County, Illinois 

supplied several of the institute instructors. This undertaking is 
now a well established practice in Illinois. Since normal schools 
are the training schools for future teachers, and since teachers 
can control the attitude of coming farmers more effectively 
than any others, it is evident that there is much truth in 
Superintendent Hall's statement that "no movement of greater 
significance ever appeared on the institute horizon." If indica- 
tive of the great federation of rural social forces, as it seems 
to be, this movement is probably all that is implied by this 
statement. 

In conclusion, it is well to emphasize the responsibility of 
the farmers' institute in bringing about a general cooperation 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



105 



of social forces for better country living. The farmers' insti- 
tute has not accomplished its full purpose when it has shown 
how to raise better corn and prevent the impoverishment of 
soils. These are worthy ends, but they are not sufficient. 
They represent but one phase of its mission. The institute, as 
all other farm organizations, must go further than this. It 
must show how to rear better farmers, men and women more 
intelligently prepared to control all the affairs of life — social, 
political, industrial, and educational. Certainly no agency in 
American farm life today has a more favorable opportunity 
for rendering such service than the farmers' institute. Per- 
haps, too, with the exception of the country school, none is 
doing more for the best development of farmers. The par- 
ticular point to be emphasized here, however, is that the 
farmers' institute must concern itself with not only the finan- 
cial and industrial welfare of the farmer, as it has evinced 
a strong tendency to do in the past, but with his social wel- 
fare also. 

To obtain immediate results it is necessary that this respon- 
sibility of the farmers' institute be shared by the country 
school and the country teacher. This does not mean that the 
teacher should assume the duties of an institute official. It 
means only that she should use her own particular opportuni- 
ties for awakening dormant communities to a greater appre- 
ciation of what the farmers' institute stands for as a social- 
izing agency in American farm life. Some means of bringing 
this about have been suggested, but it must be understood 
that these are only suggestive. The earnest teacher who 
desires to do anything effective in furthering institute and 
school cooperation and the general local federation of rural 
social forces, must gain a broad general conception of each 
of these agencies through reading and through personal con- 
tact and communication with people interested in their 
development. 



106 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The bulletins issued by the United States Department of 
Agriculture under the direction of Farmers' Institute Special- 
ist John Hamilton are invaluable to country teachers and may 
be obtained for the asking. Among these bulletins are the 
annual proceedings of the Association of Farmers' Institute 
Workers, a history of the development of the institute move- 
ment in the different states, and a series of illustrated lec- 
tures. These lectures cover a variety of subjects and are 
especially useful for evening meetings in schoolhouses. A 
list of their titles is appended to this chapter. Each one is 
accompanied by three or four dozen lantern slides. The 
proceedings of the Association of Farmers' Institute Workers 
contain a list of the names and addresses of institute officials 
in the several states, and any country teacher can thus get 
the address of her state director from whom state reports 
and other literature may then be obtained. In this simple way 
country teachers can easily establish connections with the most 
progressive and thoughtful institute workers in the country. 
Farmers' Institute Illustrated Lectures 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. i. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture 
on the Care of Milk. By R. A. Pearson. Pp. 12. 1904. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 2, revised. Syllabus of Illustrated 
Lecture on Potato Diseases and Their Treatment. By F. C. Stewart 
and H. J. Eustace. Pp. 30. 1907. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 3, revised. Syllabus of Illustrated 
Lecture on Acid Soils. By H. J. Wheeler. Pp. 28. 1907. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 4. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Profitable Cattle Feeding. By F. B. Mumford. Pp. 21. 1905. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 5. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Silage and Silo Construction for the South. By Andrew M. Soule. 
Pp. 31. 1905. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 6. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Essentials of Successful Field Experimentation. By C. E. Thorne. Pp. 
24. 1905. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 7. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture 
on Roads and Road Building. By the Office of Public Roads. Pp. 16. 
1907. 



FARMERS' INSTITUTES 



107 



Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 8. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Farm Architecture. By E. T. Wilson. Pp. 20. 1907. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 9. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture 
on Tobacco Growing. By J. N. Harper. Pp. 15. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 10. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
the Production and Marketing of Eggs and Fowls. By James Dryden. 
Pp. 20. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 11. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture on 
Wheat Culture. By. J. I. Schulte. Pp. 22. 



CHAPTER VI 
ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 

Roads an Agency for Country Life Progress. We are 

just now mounting the crest of a great movement back to the 
country. In all this stir of activity nothing has more bearing 
upon the real Country Life Movement than the kind of roads 
one travels. All rural advancement depends upon highways. 
What merits it to build an attractive home at the end of an 
impassable barrier of gummy loam? Or of what avail is it 
to strive for a prosperous church, a centralized school, or an 
enthusiastic grange, when an able-bodied team can scarcely 
pull an empty vehicle down the main thoroughfare? 

Roads throughout all time have been the symbol of growth 
and expansion. They are truly said to limit the progress of a 
people and determine their thought. In the open country espe- 
cially they become the arteries of life. The very absorption 
with which the road is scanned from every farm window 
proves its significance in the life of the country. The road prob- 
lem, in truth, lies next the heart of the whole rural situa- 
tion, and is underlaid only by the more fundamental issue of 
proper education. "The two great forces for the advance- 
ment of civilization," once said Charles Sumner, "are the 
schoolmaster and good roads." 

The Road Problem a National Issue. The road question 
has heretofore been regarded as a farm question only, and 
it is little wonder, considering the magnitude of the problem, 
that farmers have grown weary of the task imposed upon 
them. So marked has been the recent change of opinion in 

108 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



109 



this regard, however, that it no longer requires much argu- 
ment to declare the improvement of public roads a problem 
of state and national concern. The high cost of living just 
now so disturbing to the national peace finds much of its 
origin in bad road conditions. The annual "mud-tax" in the 
United States — that is, the financial loss due to transporting 







The Road Problem 



crops over bad roads — is estimated at $250,000,000. Accord- 
ing to Director L. W. Page, of the United States Office of 
Public Roads, it costs a farmer 1.6 cents more to haul a 
bushel of wheat 9.4 miles to a neighboring railroad station 
than it does to transport it from New York to Liverpool, a 
distance of 3,100 miles. Add to this, much of the railroad 
congestion as due to stoppage of traffic at farm sources, 



IIO COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

and the road question cannot escape a fair share of responsi- 
bility for the high-cost-of-living dilemma. 

But notwithstanding this direct influence of road conditions 
upon city dwellers, the chief effect of transportation facilities 
is felt most immediately by farmers. It is farmers who must 
face the road in all kinds of weather, endure its trying incon- 
veniences, and dwell with it from one year's end to another. 
Every phase of farm living is colored by the condition of the 
highways. Not only the economic, but the social, educational, 
and even the spiritual and moral status of rural life is largely 
dependent upon roads. And herein lies the greatest proof of 
the contention that road improvement is, and will always be, a 
matter of national concern. No class whether in city or 
country can live to itself alone, any more than the individual ; 
the standard of life in the most isolated district eventually 
permeates the whole nation, raising or lowering its level 
according to the original quality. In other words, we are 
now so interwoven as a population that no entirely separate 
country and city problems exist. What we have understood 
heretofore as class issues were but rural and urban phases 
of common national problems. This is especially true of the 
road problem. 

But while the national and universal significance of road 
improvement is now commonly acknowledged, it is not yet 
acted upon in a legislative and administrative way, as will 
appear throughout this discussion. 

The Road System of France as a Type of Efficient High- 
way Organization. Before attempting to point out the 
defects of our present American road system, it will be well 
to outline a good and thoroughly established system as an 
example of what a road system should embody. For this 
purpose almost any European road system would answer, 
but that of France is selected. The roads of France are 
the best in the world. This enviable rank is made possible 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM HI 

only through a marked degree of attention — financial, scien- 
tific, and administrative. France maintains 350,000 miles of 
stone road, enough highway to encircle the whole world four- 
teen times, in a state of almost perfect repair. The original 
cost of these roads has been estimated at $1,660,000,000, while 
the annual cost of maintenance is $40,600,000. In this last 
sum, so startlingly large to Americans, lies much of the secret 
of French highway efficiency. The whole concern in road 
maintenance is the care of the crust. In this, three things 
are necessary : perfect drainage, constant cleaning, and imme- 
diate and proper repair. Stone roads must be kept clean 
because dust makes mud, mud holds moisture, and moisture 
breaks the crust. To this end the chief highways of France 
are swept almost daily, and it is no exaggeration to say that 
"French roads are maintained by the broom." So perfect 
is this system of repair that the average thickness of French 
national roads is but five and one-eighth inches as contrasted 
with the former American idea of from twelve to eighteen 
inches. 

It is to a remarkable system of road administration and 
supervision, however, that we must finally turn for the under- 
lying cause of the perfection of French roads. The follow- 
ing account of the organization of the French road system 
is quoted from Director L. W. Page, of the United States 
Office of Public Roads : 

The striking feature of the French road system is the skilled super- 
vision provided in every grade of road work and in every unit of 
the administrative organization. The basis of the system is the 
School of Roads and Bridges, one of the finest technical schools in 
the world, maintained at the expense of the national government. 
From the graduates of this school are chosen the highway engineers 
who are entrusted with the building and maintenance of the roads. 
The course of study lasts three years and the instruction is free. 

At the head of the administrative organization is an Inspector- 
General of bridges and highways, under whom are Chief Engineers in 



H2 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

charge of the road work of single departments and communes. Single 
arrondissements are under the direction of ordinary engineers and 
under-engineers, the latter being equivalent in rank to non-com- 
missioned officers in the army. The sub-divisions are under the 
direction of principal conductors and ordinary conductors. Next in 
line come the foremen of construction gangs, the clerk employed at 
headquarters, and finally the cantonniers or patrolmen, each having 
from four to seven kilometers of highway under his immediate super- 



A French Highway 

France maintains enough highway to encircle the world fourteen times 
in a state of almost perfect repair 

vision. This great administrative machine, working in complete har- 
mony with definite lines of responsibility clearly established, accom- 
plishes results with military precision and regularity. 

In this army of workers not the least important unit is the cantonnier, 
or patrolman, who has charge of a single section of the road. He keeps 
the ditches open, carefully fills holes and ruts with broken stone, 
removes dust and deposits of sand and earth after heavy rains, trims 
the trees and bushes, and when ordinary work is impossible breaks 
stone and transports it to points where it is likely to be needed. He 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



113 



brings all matters requiring attention to the notice of his chief. 
Each cantonnier carries a little book in which the chief cantonnier 
notes his instructions and checks up the work accomplished. The con- 
ductors go over the line at regular intervals and direct the chief can- 
tonnier, and all reports are transmitted to the central authorities, so 
that at any time the exact condition of every foot of road throughout 
France may be ascertained. Every year the conductors prepare esti- 
mates of necessary expenses for the next year, under three heads, 
namely, maintenance, heavy repairs, and new work, and the parlia- 
mentary appropriations are based upon these careful calculations. 

Organization of the American Highway System. The 

American road system since 1893 has been centered in a 
special national bureau under the direction of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture. This bureau when first organized was 
known as the Office of Road Inquiry and was given an appro- 
priation of $10,000. Since this time minor changes have been 
made, appropriations have been increased, and the name has 
been changed to the Office of Public Roads. From the very 
first this bureau has proved its efficiency, and to this division 
of our highway system, at least, Americans can point with 
pride and satisfaction. The work of this office, which is 
wholly of an investigative and educational character, is given 
over to three subdivisions of the department. These are, 
first, the Division of Tests, or laboratory, in which road- 
building materials from any locality are tested free; second, 
the Highway Division, which performs the technical engineer- 
ing work of the office; and third, the Division of Road Man- 
agement, which concerns itself with statistical work and the 
preparation and distribution of bulletins. 

Just at this point, however, in passing on to the state unit, 
our public road system begins to break down. Road adminis- 
tration has been placed on a sound and practical basis in 
but half of the states of the union. Even among these the 
variety of management existing indicates the lack of scientific 
certainty in determining the best organization. In some in- 



II 4 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

stances, as in New York and Massachusetts, the State High- 
way Department possesses official authority and ample rev- 
enue to enforce its bidding. In others, as in Illinois, the 
work of the state department is only educational, investi- 
gative, and advisory. In a full half of the states, it should 
be remembered, there is no trace of centralized or state 
control of roads. 

But if state highway organization reveals variety and un- 
certainty, how much worse do matters appear when atten- 
tion is turned to the local units. In the South, this unit of 
organization for roads, as for other governmental affairs, is 
usually the county. In the North, it is the township. In all, 
there is thus presented the motley confusion of states with 
centralized road organization, of others with none; of some 
with county organization, but none for state or township; 
of others with state and township control, but none for 
the county; and of still others with township, but neither 
state nor county systems. 

Some Defects of the American Highway System. The 
evils of this heterogeneousness of the present highway sys- 
tem are most evident in the local community. Here the sins 
of untrained officials, political influence, and unscientific con- 
struction are plainly revealed. According to State Highway 
Engineer A. N. Johnson nearly seven millions of dollars are 
spent annually in Illinois by men who know nothing of road 
building. As an illustration of this unscientific procedure 
let the reader recall how many times he has known roads to 
be worked at the wrong time of year or has seen local officials 
attempting to mend a stone road by shoveling loose material 
upon its surface, thereby accomplishing the very thing France 
annually spends millions to prevent. Let him consider, too, 
that the chief underlying evil in all this local waste in road 
management, as in much other inefficiency , is partisan politics. 

Only the most casual comparison of our so-called road 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



115 



system with that of the French is required to reveal its glaring 
defects. The most evident of these deficiencies may be sum- 
marized as follows : 

1. Our system is poorly organized, incomplete, and lacks 
unity. This has been indicated by the brief account of its 
organization given above. 

2. It enforces the wrong policy of support, entailing a 




Avenue of Trees. Hobbema 



local rather than a state and national system. This plan is 
not only inefficient but rankly unjust and deserves the con- 
demnation which farmers have heaped upon it in their demands 
for state and federal aid. 

3. It fails to provide adequate revenue for the construc- 
tion and maintenance of respectable highways. In 1910 the 
total mileage of roads in the United States was 2,151,500 



Ii6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

miles. During the same year the total expenditures for road 
improvement were about $90,000,000. In view of the fact 
that the only thoroughly dependable and efficient type of road 
is the hard surfaced one, which costs at least from two to 
three thousand dollars a mile, it is plain that little can be 
done with an annual average of but forty-five dollars to the 
mile. 

4. Through political contamination it permits the employ- 
ment of untrained officials. These, it is true, are restricted 
to the local field, but this is exactly where they can do the 
most harm. The folly of this is self-evident. 

5. It allows roads to be poorly built with little or no ap- 
plication of engineering science, wasting annually fabulous 
sums in this way. 

6. It makes practically no provision for the maintenance 
of completed roads. So seemingly disheartening and dis- 
couraging is the rapidity with which hard-surfaced roads 
go to pieces under this lax method that the stupid neglect 
to which newly made roads are subjected has been declared 
by some "the worst enemy of the good roads movement." 

7. It provides no accurate survey or classification of roads. 
The determination of local conditions and the collection of 
data constitute the foundation of every scientific undertak- 
ing, but for roads, as for other phases of agriculture, scarcely 
a beginning has been made in this direction. 

8. The system as a whole is supported by insufficient 
legislation. Herein lies the source of its other defects. But 
back of this and of every other deficiency named, lies the 
great original defect of insufficient attention on the part of 
the people as a whole. This, in the last analysis, is the most 
serious need of all, and for its correction nothing but the 
stimulating influence of education will avail. Reference will 
be made to this point in a later connection. 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 117 

Suggestions for an Improved Highway System. Plans 
for an improved highway system are numerous. The ideal 
American system, however, should not be patterned closely 
after the systems of Europe. This is now considered a 
serious error by many students of road administration. Our 
situation with vast stretches of open country and little build- 
ing material presents exceedingly difficult and individual con- 
ditions for which a distinctly American method must be 
devised. But the one respect in which we may safely imitate 
European models is that of equal efficiency. 

To this end an improved system would call for the fur- 
ther strengthening and development of the present Office 
of Public Roads, so that its already efficient service might be 
still further increased. In conjunction with this office, yet 
distinct from it, the establishment of a National Highway 
Commission would seem wise. This commission should be 
an advisory council designed chiefly to arbitrate in road mat- 
ters between states, and to secure the working coordination 
of the state highway departments. The best organization 
within the state seems to be that of vesting the general con- 
trol of road affairs in the hands of a state highway commis- 
sion which shall be either an appointive or elective office, 
preferably an appointive one. The responsible head of actual 
road construction^ within the state, however, should be a 
thoroughly trained and efficient state highway engineer, em- 
ployed by the state highway commission. This office should 
be wholly removed from political favoritism. In each county, 
working under the supervision and direction of the state high- 
way engineer should be a county engineer. This office, also, 
should be wholly removed from politics, the occupants being 
employed by a county highway commission especially elected 
for this purpose. Under the jurisdiction of the county engi- 
neer should be a group of supervisors or overseers, varying 



Ii8 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

in number with the amount and difficulty of the highway 
work in the county. These men should be in direct authority 
over the gangs of workmen but should be assisted by fore- 
men whom they select. This plan is but roughly suggestive, 
but it is apparent that when some such continuity of pur- 
pose exists, good roads will come as a natural consequence, 
and not before. 

Some Progressive Road Movements and Reforms : Legis- 
lative Improvements. Numerous reforms are now forth- 
coming designed to overcome one or more of the defects just 
set forth. Chief among these are the legislative provisions for 
the improvement of the system. The gradual expansion of the 
national Office of Public Roads through increased funds and 
the employment of more officials has been one of the most 
effective movements for progress. Legislative enactment for 
the improvement of state supervision has also been especially 
marked in recent road history. Twenty-five states now possess 
official highway commissions, whereas less than twenty 
years ago no states availed themselves of this opportunity. In 
county and local organization, reform is further advancing. 
Missouri, long famed for her bad roads, but now redeeming 
this reputation through the bestowal upon humanity of D. Ward 
King and his famous road drag, is recently proving, the effi- 
ciency of a well directed county system. The control of county 
road administration in Missouri is optionally placed in the hands 
of the county court, which acts also as a county highway com- 
mission and is authorized to employ a trained engineer to 
direct the highway work of the county. This engineer di- 
vides the county into road districts, determining the size, 
shape, and number of such districts upon the basis of economy 
and convenience, rather than by township or other political 
unit. Each district is then placed under the immediate super- 
vision of district overseers, who direct the laborers employed 
in the actual work of construction and maintenance. These 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM H9 

overseers are also appointed, not politically elected, and prop- 
erty road tax is due the state in cash. 

State Aid and Increased Revenue. Significant reform is 
coming also in the increase of funds appropriated for road 
building, and in the manner through which these sums are 
raised. The wasteful plan of allowing local tax to be worked 
out upon the roads is rapidly being corrected. Federal aid, 
though not yet forthcoming, is enthusiastically sought and 
seemingly near at hand. The most progressive reform in a 
financial way has been the increased provision for state aid. 
Thirty-two states now furnish more or less financial aid to 
local communities desiring to build roads. In other states 
free material prepared in the state penal institutions is fur- 
nished in addition or in lieu of financial aid. Among the 
states that led in state aid in 19 10 were New York, appro- 
priating two and one-half million dollars ; Massachusetts, one 
million, and Pennsylvania, one million. In Massachusetts the 
state pays the whole expense of all roads built. 

Developments in Road Science. Nowhere throughout the 
entire field of road administration has greater progress been 
made than in the development of road science. Because of 
the overbalancing percentage of earth roads in this country 
(ninety-five per cent) great effort has been expended upon 
this phase of the problem. Location, drainage, and dragging 
have been especially emphasized in this connection. Road 
surfacing is another line of endeavor in which great progress 
has been made. Nothing has so taxed the thought of modern 
highway engineers as the search for a surfacing that will 
stand the ravages of automobiles. In this connection it is 
interesting to note the paradoxical influence of the auto- 
mobile which through the demand of motorists for better 
highways builds up roads even while tearing them down. 

No phase of highway progress shows a greater develop- 
ment of applied road science than the experimental work of 



120 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

the national Office of Public Roads in designing various 
types of highway construction to meet local conditions. Aside 
from the dragged earth roads the following types have been 
developed. 

The sand-clay road is adapted to any region affording 
both sand and clay. Of all the miserable surfaces over which 
a team can struggle, sand is probably the worst, with clay 
a close second. But fortunately these two dreaded soils 




An Automobile Ravaging a Road 

present opposite characteristics. The essence of economy in 
handling such roads therefore is to mix the two substances 
until the bad qualities of one have neutralized those of the 
other. This is done by putting sand upon a clay road and 
clay upon a sandy one. The larger, coarser, and more angu- 
lar the sand grains, the more firmly they wedge and cement 
together and the more successful the undertaking. When 
well dragged and properly shaped such roads become sur- 
prisingly good highways. 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM I2 i 

In large areas of the South, especially along the Mississippi 
river, sedimentary clays are very common. Upon investiga- 
tion the clinkering point of many of these clays has been 
found sufficiently low to suggest that the simple burning of 
their surface by open wood fires would serve to harden them. 
To accomplish this the road bed is first plowed deeply and 
furrowed into large transverse furrows connected by a longi- 
tudinal one acting as a flue. Wood is then placed in the 
furrows, partially covered, and fired, baking the lumps of 
clay among it as it burns. When cooled sufficiently, this 
burnt-clay road, as it is called, is immediately rolled and 
dragged into shape with a decided crown to turn rainfall. 

In other regions of the country where sand abounds but no 
clay is to be found, some other method of dampening the 
sand and increasing its rigidity must be devised than the 
application of clay. To meet this demand oils have been 
applied with fair success, producing what is known as the 
oiled road. Such roads are most common in sections of Cali- 
fornia where the presence of oil wells within reasonable 
distance makes this treatment especially practicable. 

In the Middle West, where, owing to the absence of good 
building material and the value of farm lands, the road prob- 
lem is more acute than in any other section, beds of gravel 
are often found which make the construction of gravel roads 
possible. In the building of gravel roads three particular 
errors are common. First, the gravel is merely dumped upon 
the roadway and not screened and applied in layers after 
the manner of macadam as it should be. Second, the wrong 
kind of gravel is used. Sharp, angular gravel is the only 
kind that will hold its place well, the rounded river gravel, 
most common in the Middle West, being altogether too 
smooth to remain in position. Third, the maintenance and 
repair of the road, when not wholly neglected, is ordinarily 
accomplished by throwing loose material upon the surface 



122 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

without any attempt at making it cement. These ordinary 
practices, familiar sights along almost any graveled road, 
explain its early decay. 

The height of rural highway perfection is the macadam 
road. This type of road building, gets its name from its 
originator, MacAdam, a Scotch road scientist who about 
1812 designed the road bearing his name. The initial step 
in the building of a macadam road is the preparation of the 
road bed. This is of the utmost importance and involves 
several processes within itself. The first of these is grading. 
After this the road bed is rolled with a steam roller to make 
it firm and smooth and to produce a crown. The first layer 
of crushed stone is then applied and rolled. This layer con- 
sists of stone about two and one-half inches in diameter. The 
upper course or layer of stone, consisting of fragments from 
one-half to one and one-quarter inches in diameter, is then 
put on. After this, water is sprinkled over the completed 
surface to aid in the process of cementing, and the heavy 
roller is worked long and faithfully. Macadam roads as built 
in the United States are generally from twelve to fifteen feet 
wide, and from four to six inches thick, though recent prac- 
tice is to make the stone surface as thin as possible yet 
with sufficient body to endure the traffic imposed upon it. 
The cost of macadam road varies from two to five thousand 
dollars per mile, depending upon the availability of material. 
The maintenance and care of macadam roads is a science of 
itself. The three cardinal requisites of good maintenance 
have been declared : proper sub-drainage, prompt and efficient 
repair, and the keeping of the surface free from mud and 
dust. All of these, it must be confessed, are often dis- 
regarded under the American system of road administration. 

Increased Road Sentiment and Cooperation. Probably 
the most encouraging sign of the times pointing toward the 
advent of better roads is the increased road sentiment and co- 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 123 

operation now seen not only among road officials and farm- 
ers, but throughout the whole population. But notwithstand- 
ing the great number of organizations for road improve- 
ment, all that has thus far been accomplished is but a begin- 
ning. Those who are earnestly conscious of the national need 
in this direction will still find plenty to do. All reform is 
said to begin at home and this is especially true of road bet- 
terment. It is the work of the small organization in the 
local community which finally proves effective. Among the 
hundreds of local road organizations throughout the country 
may be cited the Galva Road Improvement Association, of 
Henry County, Illinois. This organization has adopted the 
cash system of road work, instituted a road-dragging cam- 
paign, and united the entire community, both town and coun- 
try, in an effective movement for highway improvement. 

Among the most spectacular road feats ever performed is 
the recent dragging of the Iowa River-to-River Road, extend- 
ing from Davenport to Council Bluffs, a distance of three 
hundred eighty miles. This interesting thoroughfare, pass- 
ing through twelve counties and connecting scores of towns, 
is the result of a newspaper agitation aroused by the Des 
Moines Capital. The significant factor in the making of this 
highway was the cooperation developed. "It has taken two 
months," says a reporter, "to build the road, but it took four 
months to build the organization that built the road." 

While the desire for road improvement is chiefly measur- 
able in local terms, there is a proper place for the many state 
and national organizations now covering this field. Among 
these should be mentioned first the numerous state good roads 
associations. Voluntary organizations of this type exist in 
practically all the states, and in most cases are carrying on 
effective campaigns. In some instances states confronted by 
similar highway difficulties have formed sectional road asso- 
ciations as the Southern Appalachian Good Roads Associa- 



I2 4 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



tion, which has been organized for the definite purpose of 
providing ways and means for the construction of five hun- 
dred miles of improved roads in the southern Appalachian 
mountain region. 

Of the national road leagues now in force the first to form 
was the National Good Roads Association, organized in 1900. 
The chief purpose of this organization is to educate the 
public to the necessity of good roads. To this end it holds 




Marking the Route of the Iowa River-to-River Dragged Road 

This road extends across the state of Iowa, a distance of 380 miles 

large annual conventions and works chiefly through lectures 
and the press. State highway departments realizing the simi- 
larity of their problems have also formed a special organiza- 
tion known as the American Highway League, which is de- 
signed primarily "to encourage highway improvement and 
provide effective cooperation between state road departments 
and other state and federal departments interested in roads." 
Among the latest national highway organizations is the Amer- 
ican Association for Highway Improvement, organized in the 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



"5 



fall of 1 9 10. This association intends to serve as a national 
head for all road organizations and has undertaken as its 
Herculean task "the correlation and harmonizing of the ef- 
forts of all existing organizations working for road improve- 
ment." It serves also as a general clearing house for high- 
way information, and may be reached through the address 
given in the rural progress directory of this book. Surmount- 
ing all local, state, and national effort at road organization 
stands the Permanent International Association of Road Con- 
gresses. This association holds biennial international road 
congresses, the first of which convened in Paris in 1908, and 
the second in Brussels in 1910. 

These congresses indicate the significance with which the 
problem of road improvement is viewed by the nations of the 
world, and prove sources of untold worth for the exchange of 
national engineering discoveries and the development of road 
science. 

Road Beautifying. When people become truly inter- 
ested in a project they evince a desire to adorn it. It is 
therefore encouraging to see a beginning toward road beau- 
tifying. Certainly nothing adds more to either the aesthetic 
or material value of land than an attractive highway. In 
older countries this has long been appreciated, and the charm 
of English lanes and European drives is greatly famed. In 
our new land the fearful toil necessary to subjugate the con- 
tinent and acquire the primal comforts of life largely excuses 
the neglect with which this phase of road improvement has 
been treated. It does not, however, in any degree, excuse the 
wanton ruin and indifference with which trees are still muti- 
lated, weeds disregarded, and rubbish dumped along our 
public thoroughfares. 

Tree planting and the mowing of weeds should be the first 
steps for the beautifying of our American highways. Trees 
are often supposed to injure roads, but the contrary is usually 



126 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



the case. Macadam roads especially are benefited by them, 
as they conserve moisture and prevent dust. Even earth roads 
are improved by trees, provided they are not planted too 
closely. Planting alternately, on opposite sides, placing a 
tree every twenty-five feet along the roadway, is the distance 
recommended for tree setting by the Office of Public Roads. 

In Germany, fruit trees 
are planted along roads, 
and a large highway rev- 
enue comes from this 
source. Aside from this 
adornment enthusiasts of 
this phase of road im- 
provement look forward 
to the time when every 
important road shall bear 
a name, farmhouses along 
it being named or num- 
bered, and all confusing 
crossings being marked 
with well-kept guide 
signs. Certainly this would add much to the convenience of 
farm living and should be welcomed by those who expect to 
spend their days upon the land. 

Road Education. Of all movements for road progress, 
however, none is so significant as road education, since the 
road question, like other problems, is chiefly a matter of 
public enlightenment. Much is being done in this direction, 
but that more is needed is clearly apparent from the present 
conditions of our highways. At the head of highway propa- 
ganda stands the federal Office of Public Roads. The pri- 
mary purpose of this bureau is educational and in this direc- 
tion no division of our national Department of Agriculture 




A Noble Sentinel 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



127 



is rendering greater service. 1 This office not only serves 
the general purpose of a national clearing house for highway 
information, but carries on scientific research and experi- 
mentation, and disseminates the vast amount of information 
thus gained to the general public in the form of bulletins. The 
fact that these bulletins cost little or nothing and their scien- 
tific reliability and ofttimes attractive literary style, make 
them valuable road texts for popular use. As a second 
method of arousing road sentiment, object-lesson roads are 
constructed by the department. Still another means of public 
education employed by the federal road department is a printed 
lecture upon the subject of roads and road building illustrated 
with stereopticon slides. This lecture may be obtained free 
for use in any community through the Office of Public Roads 
at Washington, or of Farmers' Institute Specialist John 
Hamilton. 

Next to the federal office the most effective agencies for 
road instruction are the various state highway departments. 
The educational work carried on by these offices is quite sim- 
ilar to that of the national office. Lectures, correspondence, 
bulletins, and annual reports all help to serve the desired end, 
while much actual surveying, supervision, and engineering 
assistance of every kind is afforded for county and local 
officials. 

Among the many other agencies now in the field of highway 
enlightenment should be mentioned the meetings, reports, 
and general propaganda work of road organizations, both 
large and local. Another agency deserving special notice for 
the daily increase of good road sentiment is the newspaper. 
It would be difficult, indeed, to measure the influence of the 

1 For a full explanation of the services of the Office of Public Roads, 
and an excellent practical discussion of the road problem, see Roads, 
Paths and Bridges, by L. W. Page, published by the Sturgis & Walton 
Co., New York. Price 85 cents postpaid. 



128 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

general press in this direction. Special road magazines, also, 
as Southern Good Roads (Lexington, North Carolina) and 
Good Roads (150 Nassau Street, New York) are contributing 
a full share to the growth of such sentiment. But the farm 
journals of the country are upon the whole scarcely giving 
as much attention to roads and the other social forces of farm 
life as they might. Of recent years the farmers' institute, 
the Grange, and other farm organizations are increasing, their 
efforts for road education and accomplishing much. Even 




A Properly Dragged Earth Road 

This road, having been properly dragged for over ten years, is now almost as 
hard and firm as stone 

railroad companies are joining the reform movement, and 
"good roads trains," carrying expert lecturers and improved 
machinery, have been run by several lines. The special 
courses in road instruction offered in state agricultural col- 
leges are another important factor in this new development. 
Not only the extended courses designed for the thorough 
training of expert engineers, but the "short courses" planned 
for practical farmers and petty road officers are significant 
in this direction. 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 



29 



The Country School and the Road Problem. Responsi- 
bility of the country school for the awakening of a good roads 
sentiment. But with all this activity the social and economic 
value of good roads is not yet sufficiently appreciated. Pri- 
marily the road issue, though a national problem, is in the 
hands of farmers, and the real farmer out in the field and his 
wife in the kitchen are the very people who are not being 
reached as they should be and must be. For this reason the 
educational agencies now existing in the immediate farm 
community must be utilized to preach the doctrine of good 
roads. This brings the problem to the door of the country 
school. By this it is not meant that the little country school 
should attempt to give technical instruction in road building. 
This would be thoroughly ridiculous. It is meant, however, 
that the country school should do its part in instituting a 
good roads sentiment among the children and people of its 
community. And this is by no means ridiculous. 

Just how this instruction shall be given will depend upon 
the individual teacher and the conditions under which she 
works. Sometimes it may be done quite incidentally, largely 
through general conversation with the children and older 
boys. Such means supplemented by a stock of government 
bulletins, procured from the Office of Public Roads, after the 
manner set forth in the appendix of this book (Section 5), 
which can-be placed in the hands of the boys for reading and 
comment, may prove effective. Frequently the subject can be 
related to the general work of the school. This is quite the 
best way. Drainage is related to geography and also to 
roads. Therefore why not introduce the two strangers, geog- 
raphy and roads, through their common relative? The laws 
of nature study or science, also, as shown in freezing, con- 
traction, and expansion will be found to embody many prin- 
ciples that can be admirably illustrated by the road before 
the schoolhouse. And what could furnish a better subject 



130 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

for themes and written composition than the improvement 
of roads? 

When a more systematic and connected study is possible, 
it may be given in the country life course suggested on page 
245. Such a course was once worked out and presented in 
a country school; therefore it can be done again, or some- 
thing similar to it. In giving this work the important thing 
is to stimulate the doing of things. Active expression in the 
school where this became a reality was provided for in the 
fact that the larger boys of the school cut the weeds of the 
roadway bordering the school yard and their own homes, and 
dragged their allotted section of highway. These same boys 
and girls in the study of the various types of roads performed 
several simple experiments, as the mixing of sands and clays 
and the puddling of fresh earth into a state of plasticity, 
an experiment which illustrates the principle of road drag- 
ging. They also constructed a miniature macadam road while 
studying that type, to illustrate some of the principles in- 
volved. Short newspaper articles on the road question were 
written meantime and contributed to the local papers. 

In Missouri the teaching of some elementary road study 
in the schools is now required by law and a special text, 
Ravenel's Road Primer (A. C. McClurg and Company, Chi- 
cago) has been prepared for use in this connection. Country 
teachers who feel incompetent to organize the work sug- 
gested here upon their own initiative will do well to use 
this text, which is simply written and well adapted to its pur- 
pose. Every country school library should possess a copy of 
this primer. 

But in road education as in all lines of social service the 
country school must reach not only children but adults, too. 
This can be done through debates, papers, and discussions in 
local community meetings held at the schoolhouse as 
described in Chapter X, and through the interest stimulated 



ROADS AND THE ROAD PROBLEM 131 

by the teacher's personal leadership and suggestion. The co- 
operation of the teacher and school with the local farmers' 
institute and road organization will be sure to prove fruitful 
also. In neighborhoods where no local organizations exist, 
the school, through the interest it creates, may become the 
prime factor in starting such an association and inducing 
farmers to drag their sections of road systematically and 
scientifically. 

All this implies, to be sure, that the country teacher should 
know something of roads and road improvements, and it is not 
impossible to acquire this knowledge immediately notwith- 
standing all difficulties. Some of the essential things country 
teachers should know about roads and impress upon chil- 
dren are included in this chapter. By considering the points 
here presented and reading the government bulletins and 
other starred references in the bibliography on roads, also by 
attending road meetings when possible, and talking to local 
road officers and farmers, the earnest teacher will find that 
she has become quite a road propagandist before she knows it. 

Influence of roads upon the welfare of country schools. 
In this undertaking, as in all other attempts at making the 
school a community center, teachers and others interested 
must hold to the long view of rural progress. They must 
see involved in this road movement the new destiny of the 
country school, which is determined by road improvement 
more largely than by any other one factor. They must see 
standing at the end of the undrained stretch of mire the little 
ungraded, inefficient country school, but standing at the end 
of the smooth serviceable highway the country school of the 
future, graded, consolidated, pleasant to look upon, and 
thoroughly efficient — a farm school of the new day, capable 
of answering all the requirements laid upon it. 

Roads of the Future. This new life means new demands 
upon the roads of the future. It means in the first place a 



132 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



road which will be serviceable at all times and in all seasons, 
and for this there is but one solution — hard surfaced roads. 
True, they will be expensive, but they must come. The new 
road must be beautiful, also, with green sward and stately 
trees, for beauty ministers to as real a need as utility. To these 
qualities of serviceableness and beauty the road of the future 
must add permanence. It must meet all the requirements now 
being placed upon it. It must especially be beyond the rav- 




The Road of the Future 

Macadamized, and serviceable at all seasons of the year 

ages of the automobile, for the automobile is here to stay and 
to become the general servant of all the people. The farmer, 
who but yesterday stood by the side of the road holding, his 
horses' heads and heaping vengeance upon the motorist, rides 
today in an automobile himself and enjoys its convenience as 
much as others. Presently he will send his children in one 
over thoroughly serviceable roads to the farm school of the 
future. Then will the new country life be full upon us. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY IN THE 
SOLUTION OF THE FARM PROBLEM 1 

Function of the Country School Defined. Some of the 
possibilities of the farm home, the country church, the Grange, 
the farmers' institute, and of roads, as agencies for country 
life progress, have been set forth in preceding pages. It now 
remains to consider in more detail the office of the country 
school and the significance of the rural educational system to 
this end. As a preliminary step in this treatment it will first 
be necessary to define the function of the country school. 

The permanent, primary function of the school in all society 
is to educate. From the elementary school, which deals chiefly 
with children, to the university or special school for adults, 
this responsibility holds, and must ever be acknowledged the 
first duty of the school. But within recent years a broadened 
interpretation and definition of education has grown up, until 
the school has taken over many of the duties of the home, the 
church, and other social institutions. In the congested dis- 
tricts of cities the school often becomes practically the whole 
guardian of unfortunate children, not only educating, but 
feeding, clothing, and doctoring them as well. These manifold 
tasks are put upon the school because of all social institutions 
it is most adaptable and most capable of serving numerous and 
varied ends. Thus it has come about that any neglected or 

1 It was my first intention to divide this book at this point into two 
parts, but upon further reflection it seemed better not to do so. The 
chief difficulty of the country school is just this separation from com- 
munity life which I should thereby emphasize. — The author. 

133 



134 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



unprovided condition of society is usually relegated to the 
school for correction. In considering the undesirable aspects 
of the present rural situation it is therefore not unwarranted 
to maintain, as is being done throughout this book, that a 
special function of the country school, imposed by present 
rural conditions, is that it shall become an initiator of various 
phases of rural progress and a center for the building of the 
community. Expressing this twofold task of the school — 
that is, its educational and its social responsibility — as one, the 
complete function of the country school may be summarized in 
the phrase, the country school as a center for redirected educa- 
tion and community building. 

The School as a Center for the Building of the Country 
Community. In communities where they are well estab- 
lished, the church, the Grange, the farmers' institute, and other 
social organizations and institutions have unquestionably a 
profound influence upon rural welfare. But there are still 
many sections even in our richest agricultural states, in which 
little or no attention is given to any of these agencies. Country 
churches are rare, the Grange is little known to the general 
rural public, and but four per cent of the farmers of the 
United States take any active part in the farmers' institute. 
The chief reason for this is that farmers do not appreciate the 
value of strong social institutions and well-developed commu- 
nities. This resolves the whole question into a matter of the 
enlightenment or education of country people, and makes the 
school, the institution of society assigned to control educa- 
tion, a chief means of attack upon the rural situation. It is 
through the country school and its influence that farmers, 
both present and future, may most directly come to appre- 
ciate the true significance of country life and the' possibili- 
ties of all organizations and agencies working toward its 
betterment. 

By this it is not implied that the school can do all, or that 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



135 



it shall assume the work of other institutions. The church can 
reach a higher, pinnacle of spiritual power than the school — 
the farmers' institute, the farmers' club, and the business and 
professional organization, each has its special task which the 
school can neither cover nor gainsay. The fundamental con- 
tention here, and the only contention, is that the school is 
generally the best and most available agency in the local coun- 




The Country School as a Community Center 

try community for introducing various phases of rural im- 
provement and for instituting immediate progress. By reason 
of its peculiarly effective position the school, as shown in ear- 
lier chapters, can react upon home life, further church prog- 
ress, teach the necessity of road improvement, and cooperate 
in the introduction and development of the Grange, farmers' 
institute, and other farm organizations. In other words, the 
school is the best and most available center for the upbuilding 



I 3 6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

of the country community and may become the most imme- 
diate and effective local agency in the solution of the farm 
problem. Hence the importance of the rural educational sys- 
tem and the necessity of giving it serious attention in any 
attempt at bettering the unfavorable conditions of country 
life. 

This interpretation of the function of the country school 
as one of social leadership and community service implies that 
it must reach not only children but adults. No argument is 
needed to establish the desirability of this service, and the 
method through which it may be realized is suggested in the 
concluding paragraphs of former chapters and in the illustra- 
tions of country teacher leadership cited in chapter nine. 

It should be clearly understood, however, that the social 
interpretation of the function of the country school made here 
does not necessarily imply, and should by no means tolerate, 
a neglect of its educational responsibility. The first duty of 
every school, as formerly stated, is to educate. But to edu- 
cate properly is to cause a change in conduct, and the hypothe- 
sis that the country school shall so govern its instruction as 
to cause a change in social attitude and community condi- 
tions and relationships in no way clashes with its original pur- 
pose. In fact, it may be made to further educational ends as 
will appear in the record of concrete instances later (page 230). 

Advantages of the Country School for Rural Institu- 
tional Leadership. The advantages of the school for 
serving as a community center and as a temporary leader 
among rural social institutions may be briefly summarized as 
follows : 

1. The school is the chief agency of education and, as 
formerly pointed out, the whole rural problem is a problem 
of education. 

2. It is a democratic community institution, representing 
the whole community. In this respect the school stands alone, 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



137 



and in sharp contrast with all other rural institutions; since 
the church usually means just the church members; the 
Grange, its own patrons, and even the farmers' institute but 
its own following. With the school, on the other hand, every 
individual in the neighborhood has a vital connection, owing 
to the taxes it necessitates, if for no other reason. 

3. It exists everywhere. Every country community has a 
school, though the Grange, farmers' institute, and even the 




An Average Country School 

Untold possibilities for community service lie dormant in such schools as this 

church, may be lacking. This general availability, together 
with its peculiar educational function and democratic nature, 
gives the school a tremendous leverage upon rural conditions. 

4. Its financial support is legally assured. This is more 
significant than at first appears. Because of this provision the 
school as an institution is relieved from the humiliating penury 
that often characterizes the country church. 

5. The school as a specialized agent of the state is an insti- 
tution of authority. It compels attention, support, and attend- 



138 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

ance. Here again the school excels the church and all other 
social institutions except the state. 

6. It can fulfill a wide range of demands; not only educa- 
tional, but spiritual, social, and professional as well. 

7. It can innovate progress along all lines and through 
various other rural social institutions, as has been set forth in 
the early chapters of this discussion. 

8. It is most immediate in the effect of its work and leader- 
ship because closest to the heart of the general public. 

9. It is most nearly ready to lead because country teachers 
of all rural social workers are most easily and quickly trained 
for rural leadership. This point is of vital significance in the 
interpretation of the function of the country school as made 
here and will be given further consideration in a later chapter. 

Leadership of the School Largely a Temporary Function. 
But with all these advantages for institutional and community 
leadership, the school must recognize its limitations and give 
place to other institutions when once these are established 
and awakened, realizing that its chief mission has been ful- 
filled through the stimulation of other agencies. This is a 
very significant conception which all who would work toward 
the best development of country life, however enthusiastic 
over the leadership of the school, or church, or other single 
institution, should ponder well. Any argument among social 
institutions of which shall be first and which last is altogether 
futile. There is more than enough work for all, and the only 
safe criterion for the school, as for other institutions, is 
to fix attention on the ultimate and common good and 
direct its action accordingly, leading or following as occasion 
demands. When the time comes for the school to follow, it 
must accept the change of rank and fulfill its obligations as 
efficiently as before ; though it may be said that the large and 
varied office of education will always be sufficiently important 
to dignify any institution. In the present transitory period, 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



139 



however, the place of the school in country community life is 
undoubtedly that of institutional leadership, and for this 
office it must shortly procure the necessary degree of 
efficiency. 

Needs of the Country School. The needs of the school 
for realizing the twofold function just defined are many. The 
following enumeration is not complete, but covers the most 
urgent deficiencies : 

1. Educational redirection. By this is meant the imparting of 
instruction to country children in terms of rural experience. 

2. Physical improvement. 

3. Social redirec- 
tion . The school 
must gain the com- 
munity attitude and 
become a community 
or social center. 

4. Trained teach- 
ers. 

5. Better super- 
vision. 

6. Better legisla- 
tion. 

7. A change of 
system, or consolida- 
tion. 




An Ancient Landmark of Learning 

The strong' country school of forty years ago 
now presents but a poor shadow of its former 
glory 



8. Increased cooperation on the part of people and di- 
rectors. 

9. Sufficient revenue. 

The first seven of these needs will receive detailed discus- 
sion in succeeding chapters. The last two are implied through- 
out as the basis of all other improvement, but may be en- 
forced by a word of comment here. A sufficient revenue, 
which implies cooperation on the part of people and directors, 



I 4 o COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

since money is the medium through which public interest is 
made tangible, is absolutely fundamental to country school 
improvement. Good teaching, modern buildings, and ample 
equipment, all cost money — more money than country people 
are often willing to provide. Two aspects of this issue are 
significant. In the first place it is evident upon a little inves- 
tigation that farmers as a rule usually raise but a small frac- 
tion of the amount they might legally levy for school mainte- 
nance and improvement. Country school penury is proverbial. 
This is quite as true in wealthy sections as in poor agricul- 
tural regions. In Illinois, for example, it is unusual to 
find a country district levying the maximum legal rate, though 
scores of towns and cities in the state are taxing themselves 
to this limit and thinking nothing of it. The inequality that 
exists here is shown in the fact that for the United States as 
a whole an average of about thirty-three dollars is expended 
annually for the education of each city child, while for each 
country child but thirteen dollars is used. LTntil this injustice 
is remedied the question of revenue will remain a fundamental 
need of the country school. A second aspect of the money 
question as related to rural education is that what money is 
raised by farmers for school purposes fails to realize adequate 
returns. The underlying reason for this rests in the inefri- 
ciency of the present country school system as will appear in 
the following paragraphs. 

The One-Teacher Country School System and Its De- 
fects. The one-teacher school system, as frequently main- 
tained, has served humanity long and well. In New England 
alone, it has turned out enough poets, statesmen, writers, and 
scientists to recommend any system of education, to say noth- 
ing of its power in the later pioneer days of the West. Let 
us not minimize the good work of the little red schoolhouse. 
It has dear associations for us all ; it has had untold influence 
on the American republic. But it has served its day. It 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



I 4 I 



belongs, not to the present with its many urgent demands for 
varied and special training, but to the past. As a system, it is 
typical of a primitive social order in which each individual was 
a jack-of-all-trades, fitted to do all things passably well, and 
no one thing especially so. It has no place in a highly com- 
plicated social life like that of today, in which competition is 
the keynote of the age, and where each individual must spe- 




Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago County, Illinois 

Consolidation offers the only adequate solution of the country school problem 



cialize more or less and make himself capable of rendering 
good service in at least one line. 

Two significant facts should be noted by those who extol 
the present country school. In the first place, it is well to 
remember that in the history of education the one-teacher 
system was developed first, and that the graded system came 
later as an outgrowth and improvement. This in itself is some 



I 4 2 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

proof of the increased efficiency of the latter. Another point 
that should be forcibly impressed upon the minds of those 
who recall the ungraded rural system in its prime, and pic- 
ture the country school of today as enrolling from fifty to 
ninety half-grown and adult young men and women, and mak- 
ing its influence felt throughout the whole community, is the 
fact that the strong country school of forty years ago has 
gradually decayed and now presents but a poor shadow of 
its former glory. What the unobserving, unthinking farmer of 
today recalls as the country school of his boyhood, no longer 
exists. The wide-awake scholarly young man he remembers as 
the country teacher has long ago attained his desired ambition 
in the law or the ministry, and has been replaced by an inex- 
perienced, untrained slip of a girl from city high school or 
neighboring community. The comfortable, convenient building 
he remembers is now aged and dilapidated, while the troop of 
hearty boys and girls his imagination sees have turned city- 
ward in search of a more extended training than the old 
system can maintain, and left but a handful of unfortunate 
stragglers. There was a time, it is true, when the country 
school was the center of attraction; when spelling-bees, liter- 
ary societies, singing schools, and debating clubs made it the 
life of the neighborhood. The school system was then fitted 
to the social needs of the generation. But owing to industrial 
changes, educational specialization, city migration, and many 
other causes, this time has gone by. Such rural school pros- 
perity can be again attained only through the upbuilding and 
adaptation of the whole educational system. The old country 
school of the past has gone, never to return. 

By this it is not implied that there are now no well- 
conducted schools under the old system. Here and there are 
still communities where the highest possible efficiency of the 
system is realized. Such instances, however, are the exception 
rather than the rule, and in their prosperity but prove the 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



H3 



limitations of the ungraded system. Suppose a school to be 
blessed with a capable, earnest teacher and a liberal board of 
directors, housed in a modern, sanitary building, and composed 
of a fair number of children — suppose, in brief, that every- 
thing possible has been done to add to the work and worth of 
the school; yet, even under the most favorable conditions, 
three incurable defects still remain: 

1. The school having from six to eight grades, each grade 
with at least four daily recitations, demands more work than 
one teacher can possibly do well in the meager time allotted, 
to say nothing of the strength, scholarship, and ability required 
for such a task. 

2. The small number of children enrolled very frequently 
makes an uninteresting school, and never fails, even in larger 
schools, to necessitate the formation of some classes of one, 
two, or three children. Such conditions are abnormal and 
anti-social. The stray children of these classes consequently 
lose interest, dawdle, and often drop out of school altogether, 
through the simple lack of companionable associates. 

3. The third defect, the fact that the system provides no 
high school course and still costs as much per capita as a 
graded system providing the best of secondary schools, is 
perhaps its worst feature. Country people in order to secure 
the advantages of a high school for their children do one of 
two things, both detrimental to farm life. In the first place, 
they usually send the boy or girl under consideration away 
from the home into the care of an urban high school whose 
interests, courses, and tendencies are naturally so arranged as 
to lead the country child directly away from the farm to the 
town or city. In this way, hundreds of the most capable 
young people are drained from the country every year. The 
farmer, in the meantime, proceeds to support two schools, 
one in the home district and one in town, thus yielding him- 
self to as double and unequal a system of taxation as any 



144 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



ever devised. Sometimes, as an alternative for this, the whole 
family moves to town "to educate the children." Whoever 
has seen the piteous spectacle of idle farmers discontentedly 
loafing away their time while the children are being educated 
— and who has not? — needs no comment on this state of 




• Domestic Science in the Harlem Consolidated School 

Redirected teaching- can here become a reality 

affairs. And here, too, the country suffers again. We shall 
never solve the farm problem as long as the most energetic 
and ambitious leaders of country life are being forced into 
cities to provide educational advantages for their children. 

The defects of the present rural educational system just 
cited are the permanent ones for which no remedy can be 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



145 



provided without a fundamental change of system. As for- 
merly stated, they exist even under the most favorable condi- 
tions. But unfortunately, conditions are not always, in fact, 
not ordinarily, favorable. Usually, country schools are more 
inefficient and present far more defects than those just por- 
trayed. Physically, they are often eyesores on the land- 
scape. Socially and educationally, 
they are equal failures. Chil- 
dren's clubs, parent conferences, 
and community meetings are 
usually all unknown. Who cares 
to go to a dingy, dilapidated build- 
ing to spend an afternoon or eve- 
ning? And how much redirected 
teaching is likely to be done by a 
teacher who is compelled to hear 
from twenty to twenty-five recita- 
tions in one day? Still another 
defect of the one-teacher system 
lies in the fact that though teach- 
ing, like all other professions, is 
now characterized by the highest 
specialization, one teacher is ex- 
pected to handle equally well all 
ages of children from six to 

twenty. These several defects are serious and numerous 
enough, it would seem, to condemn any educational system. 
The Country School System of the Future. The coun- 
try school system of the future must remedy the weaknesses 
of the existing system just emphasized. This means, briefly, 
that it must be a system typical of our present complex social 
life. In other words, it must be a several-teacher or graded 
system, which will make possible a division of labor among 




An Expensive Estab- 
lishment 

Teacher and pupils. Cost per 
capita $125 a year 



146 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

teachers, permitting some degree of specialization, and there- 
fore better professional service. 

By referring to the country school system of the future as 
a graded system it is not meant that it shall be a rigid, over- 
organized machine, imitating the errors of large city schools. 
Present inefficiency is to be preferred to this. The end desired 
is a division of labor among teachers, not overdone grading 
and the copying of urban models. But the one does not neces- 
sarily imply the other. And this the country school system 
of the future, as here conceived, will clearly verify. 

To procure such a system, it is only necessary for farmers 
to adjust themselves to their environment, eliminate distance 
by transportation, gather their children into larger groups, 
collect scattered funds, and combine the heroic but fruitless 
and ineffective effort now wasted on the old, outgrown sys- 
tem. Why advantages so easily gained by the simple act of 
increasing the size of the district are so slowly grasped will 
probably long remain a mystery in the record of education. 
Perhaps the very simplicity of the undertaking baffles interest 
and faith in its efficiency. 

However this may be, it is clearly evident that such a sys- 
tem, so maintained, will provide, among other things, a com- 
fortable, sanitary, attractive school home where country chil- 
dren may enjoy all the conveniences ordinarily ascribed to city 
life; a building which, at least, can be what few country 
schools are now — clean, well-lighted, well-heated, and properly 
ventilated. A school of this kind, moreover, owing to its 
size, dignity, and attractiveness, can exert a social influence 
impossible to the little one-room school set off by itself in 
comparative isolation. The consolidated school may become 
an influential neighborhood center for lectures, talks, concerts, 
literary programs, and similar gatherings. The nature of the 
system also provides the one-in-a-class child companionable 
associates, increases the general interest and enthusiasm of 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AS AN AGENCY 



147 



the school through increased numbers, and through the min- 
gling of the children, soon overcomes the social bans and 
barriers of the small neighborhood, in the broader interests 
of the larger community. 

Educationally, the graded system makes possible for the 
children of farmers all the advantages now enjoyed by the 
most favored city children. No other method of providing 




School Float, Harlem Consolidated School 

The consolidated school can exert a social influence impossible to the little one- 
room school 



the country boy and girl equal opportunity has ever been 
devised. Three or four teachers doing, the work formerly 
attempted by one can naturally do greater justice both to 
themselves and to the children under their charge. Redirected 



148 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

teaching and a vitalized course of study can then become a 
reality. This, and the ultimate fulfilment of such a course 
through a good high school, makes the graded or consolidated 
system the only adequate solution of the country school 
problem'. 

Consolidation the Fundamental Need of Country Schools. 
The country school, let it be repeated, is the most direct and 
immediate point of attack upon the unfavorable conditions of 
country life. Increasing its efficiency is necessarily the first 
step toward progress. But no adequate degree of efficiency 
is possible under the existing one-teacher system. The imme- 
diate need for our country schools is for an army of far- 
seeing, heroic teachers who will go forth to impress upon 
farmers and others the inefficiency of the outgrown system. 
But the fundamental need is deeper than this. And upon it 
educational redirection, service as a community center, effi- 
cient teaching, the holding of trained teachers, and all else, 
depend. 

The fundamental need of country schools is a change of 
system, or consolidation. 



CHAPTER VIII 
CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

Definition and Types. By the consolidation of country 
schools is meant the union of two or more of them. Four 
classifications of consolidated schools may be made: I. The 




The John Swaney Consolidated School, McNabb, Putnam County, 

Illinois 

complete or township type, embracing all the schools of a 
whole township. 2. The partial type, including but a frac- 
tional part of a township. 3. The village or town type, located 

149 



i5o 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



in a town or village. 4. The country type, by which is meant 
the consolidated school located in the open country. Of these 
four kinds of consolidated schools, the last or country type 
is most desirable from both the social and pedagogical points 
of view, as will appear throughout this discussion. 

Possibilities of Consolidation: The John Swaney Con- 
solidated School of Putnam County, Illinois. As a concrete 




Barn and Janitor's House, John Swaney School 

study, illustrating the splendid possibilities of the consolidated 
school, and explaining the insistent commendation of consoli- 
dation made throughout this book, the John Swaney Consoli- 
dated School of Putnam County, Illinois, is selected. This 
school, which State Superintendent F. G. Blair of Illinois 
describes as "a school so perfect that I would gladly take my 
boys out of the Springfield schools and place them in it, if 
possible," was selected for special report in 1909 by the Com- 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



151 



mittee on Industrial Education in Rural Schools of the Na- 
tional Education Association, "as affording the best example 
of public sentiment, private liberality, and wise organization 
combined, that the committee was able to find in any consoli- 
dated district in the United States." 

One of the most satisfying characteristics of the John 
Swaney School, to those who believe in the fulness of 
country life, is its location in an open country community 
one and one-half miles from the nearest village and ten miles 
from even a fair-sized town. In April, 1908, the writer pre- 
pared an article for an educational journal concerning the 
history, work, and spirit of this school, founded upon her 
personal acquaintance as 
a teacher in the com- 
munity. Much of the fol- 
lowing account is taken 
from this article. 

The early settlers of 
the Clear Creek c o m - 
munity of Putnam County 
were chiefly Quakers, who 
brought with them to the 
prairies of the West 
wholesome religious 
views and an enduring 
faith in education. The 

first building erected in these pioneer days was probably the 
"meeting house," but near it simultaneously grew the com- 
munity schools. Early in the history of these first schools two 
strong literary societies sprang up, and flourished without a 
break for over a quarter of a century. The influence of these 
"literaries" can scarcely be imagined — nor their aspirations, 
either. Shakespearean plays were several times attempted and 
staged on country school platforms ! Through good teaching, 




s ■■^m 



Teachers' Cottage, John Swaney 
School 



152 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



literary societies, debating clubs, and all, these early schools 
grew stronger day by day. Eighty and ninety pupils were 
enrolled in the winter, and before long the community had 
earned and gained a reputation among school men for big 
salaries, scholarship, and efficiency. 

This high tide of prosperity in rural education had lasted 
some years when a change was discovered. Young men and 
women no more capable than those of "Quaker Lane" were 
going beyond the common branches and were acquiring an 
academy or high school education which seemed to fit them 

better for the work of 
the world. This, these 
Quaker parents saw, and, 
seeing, determined to give 
their own children. But 
the country school of the 
community was a busy 
place. The teacher was 
already an overburdened 
man and had no time to 
supply this deficiency. So 
the only alternative was 
accepted: the boys and 
girls zv ere sent azvay to 
school. Some families moved to town to provide this oppor- 
tunity and rented their farms in the meantime to foreigners, 
who took far less interest in educational matters and soon 
changed the character of the once powerful school. The "liter- 
aries" died ; the dramatic club failed ; the debating societies 
sickened and passed away. The enrollment, standing at eighty, 
fell to twenty and less. It was at this point that the Clear 
Creek community awoke and began to realize that the cher- 
ished educational system of the past was failing; that it was 




Stock Judging Class, John Swaney 
School 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



53 



failing to provide what was due to every child under its control 
— namely, an educational "square deal." 

There is a Grange of long standing and great influence in 
this community. Topics of interest have been considered here 
twice a month for over forty years, and here the school ques- 
tion was studied and discussed. The members of this Grange 
finally concluded that consolidation was the only solution of 
their problem. But such a conclusion on their part did not 
mean immediate success. All voters in the community were 
not convinced Grange members. Some were ignorant for- 
eigners, afraid of a little 
tax ; some were mercenary 
land owners, more afraid 
of a little tax. 

In the spring of 1905 
the contest was well on. 
Five districts were con- 
sidered in the scheme, 
but an unforeseen diffi- 
culty, the question of lo- 
cation, arose. Farmers' 
institutes, Grange meet- 
ings, mass meetings, and 
private discussions, were 

centered on the subject, but to no avail. The discord among the 
five districts was too great, and the attempt failed. Before 
the first failure was assured, however, plans were developing 
for the second efTort. This time only three adjoining districts 
were considered. Petitions were quietly circulated and signed, 
and one night the astonished leaders of the undertaking dis- 
covered that they had the majority of the legal voters of each 
district. These petitions were then presented, according to 
law, to the township trustees, who, seeing that the papers bore 




Horticultural Class Pruning Trees, 
John Swaney School 



154 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



the required majority of signatures, were supposed to grant the 
prayer of the petition. But this they refused to do. When such 
a predicament occurs, the school law of Illinois provides that 
the question be weighed and decided by the county superin- 
tendent. To the county superintendent the petitions were then 
carried. After careful and deliberate consideration, in a most 
exhaustive legal treatise on the subject, and at some peril to 
his political prospects, the superintendent, to his ever-enduring 
honor as a man and protector of children, revoked the decision 
of the trustees and granted the prayer of the petition. 




Baseball Field, John Swaney School 

A year later the building was dedicated. Although not an 
especially wealthy community, liberal donations in money, 
about $2,000 in all, were made. Besides this, Mr. and Mrs. 
John Swaney, or, as they are affectionately known to the chil- 
dren whose lives they have enriched, "Uncle John and Aunt 
Sade," gave outright twenty-four acres of beautiful wooded 
land for a campus. Growing on this campus are three hun- 
dred noble trees, and through it winds a stream with all the 
opportunity for study and pleasure that water affords. 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



155 



Crowning the campus, here in the heart and quiet of all 
this natural beauty, stands the building. It was originally 
planned at a cost of $12,000 but with the equipment installed 
this sum soon reached approximately $15,000. It is a brick 
structure containing four good schoolrooms, two laboratories, 
a library, offices, a shop for manual training, a kitchen for 
domestic science, a basement playroom, a furnace room, cloak- 
rooms, indoor toilets, and a large assembly room. It has its 
own water system and is supplied with light by gasoline gas 




Girls' Chords, John Swaney School 

generated from a reservoir buried in the ground outside the 
building. 

One of the things such a school system as this in the coun- 
try necessitates is the conveyance of children. The highways 
of the Clear Creek community are common earth roads, and 
transportation, it was declared, could never be managed. But 
the horses, wagons, and boys of Putnam County have proved 
the contrary. Two wagons are used. They are especially man- 
ufactured for the purpose and are provided with long side 
seats and curtains. In winter, heaters and warm robes are 



156 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

provided. Contracts for driving are made for the year at 
$40 per month. The greatest distance any child has to ride 
is about four and one-half miles. The wagons start about 
7 40 or 8 o'clock. They have been running since September 
3, 1906, without interruption or delay, and this in spite of mud, 
doubt, fear, and injunctions. Truly, "civilization is advancing 
in Illinois (and elsewhere) in spite of the mud." 

Perhaps the most unique feature of this whole plan is 
"Clear Creek Cottage," the home of the teachers. When the 
old school buildings were abandoned, one was in very good 
condition. It stands on the campus about forty rods from the 
new building. Boarding places for the five teachers employed 
were hard to find, and this building was remodeled into a 
seven-room cottage, a housekeeper employed, and the problem 
of board and lodging thus peacefully and happily solved. In 
another corner of the campus stands a cottage for the janitor, 
who is kept in steady employment during both summer and 
winter. 

But all these things might stand here in hollow mockery 
without good teaching. This the people of the John Swaney 
School realize, and have prevented. The principal, who has 
been well trained in both normal school and university, is paid 
a salary of $1,000 a year. The other four teachers are equally 
well trained and proportionately well compensated for their 
particular work. 

The course of study in this school is no "mere imitation of 
city school courses." It presents a well-balanced adjustment 
of both cultural and practical education and reflects the life 
of the community at every turn. Agriculture and domestic 
science are taught in the grades and are strongly emphasized 
in the high school, where they supplant some of the isolated 
formal science commonly found in secondary courses. Six 
acres of the campus are used by the high school as an experi- 
ment plot, and an excellent school garden is made each year 





Domestic Science Kitchen and Chemical Laboratory in the John 
Swaney School 



158 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

by children of the intermediate and grammar grades. Sewing, 
manual training, construction, nature study, music, drawing, 
and physical training further enrich the course. The high 
school is fully accredited at the state university, and a large 
percentage of the young people graduating enter the College 
of Agriculture, returning in time to the home neighborhood, 
which they consider "the best place in. the world to live." 
Close cooperation with the homes is maintained throughout 
the school work. Two leading farmers in the community give 
instruction in corn judging ; and horses, cattle, sheep, and other 
animals and products are brought in frequently by the stu- 
dents from their homes for class study. 

The social influence of such a school is one of its best 
features. The two strong literary societies organized include 
every pupil in the school, from the primary children to high- 
school seniors. These societies meet fortnightly and afford 
practice in parliamentary usage, and various forms of literary 
participation. One or more good plays are presented each 
year. Musical organizations add greatly to the pleasure and 
profit of the school. Athletics, also, receive due attention and 
are greatly favored through the agency of a special athletic 
association. The campus is well adapted to sports. Basket- 
ball, baseball, and tennis all flourish. But this social spirit is 
not confined to the children alone. Parents' conferences, 
musicales, entertainments, and community gatherings of every 
description are held in the auditorium, and an annual lecture 
course of the highest quality is provided. As indicated in the 
realizations of the school, there is everywhere the heartiest 
and most generous devotion on the part of the school patrons. 
There is no farm problem and no moving to town here. Land 
has risen rapidly in value, and the few farms rented in the 
district are sought by the very highest class of renters because 
of the unusual educational advantages attainable. All that the 
people of the John Swaney neighborhood have done, however, 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



159 



is no marvel. It is merely an example of what might be done, 
in a modified form, in any rural community. 

History and Status of the Consolidation Movement. 
Early Beginnings and Present Development. To Massachu- 
setts belongs the distinction of first legalizing transportation 
and of thus originating a measure which has done more in its 
later development to further the educational welfare of coun- 
try children than any other single act in the history of modern 
education. This bill was passed in 1869, and the first consoli- 
dated rural school in the United States was organized soon 

after by Superintendent 
William L. Eaton at Con- 
cord, Massachusetts. 
Since this time the idea 
has grown in favor and 
has spread westward until 
it is no longer a question 
of experimentation. Prac- 
tically the whole of Mas- 
sachusetts is now consoli- 
dated, and three-fourths 
of the states of the Union 
have adopted the plan 
more or less fully. Field 
Agent George W. Knorr, 
of the United States Department of Agriculture, who has 
observed and studied more consolidated schools than any 
one else in the country, considers consolidation "no longer a 
debatable question," and indeed the establishment of over 2,000 
schools of this type and the daily transportation of a total of 
57,000 children in various parts of the country seem to verify 
this statement. 

Ohio followed Massachusetts and next attracted particular 
attention through the centralization of its rural schools. Here 




Mr. and Mrs. John Swaney 

"Uncle John and Aunt Sade" gave twenty- 
four acres of land for the campus of 
the Swaney School 



l6o COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



the movement began in 1892. About 350 consolidated schools 
have since been established, an increase of sixty-five having 
been made in a single year. In Ashtabula County, where the 
first centralized school was organized, there are now twenty- 
one. The most rapid and remarkable progress thus far made 
in the history of consolidation, however, has occurred within 
the last decade, in the state of Indiana, where 1,600 small dis- 
trict schools have been abandoned and supplanted by about 
600 consolidated schools. But the movement is not sectional, 
by any means. In the year 191 1 Iowa reported a total of 60 

consolidated schools ; Illi- 
nois, 13; Minnesota, 130; 
Kansas, 75 ; Washington, 
120 ; Idaho, 20 ; O k 1 a - 
homa, 86; Virginia, 100; 
and Louisiana, 250. In 
all, about thirty states 
have recently made special 
legal provision for the 
transportation of children, 
and over one million dol- 
lars is now expended an- 
nually for this purpose. 
Consolidation in Indiana. Special attention is due to the 
state of Indiana in any treatment of country school consolida- 
tion because of its present leadership in this movement. The 
gratifying and remarkable progress made here within the last 
decade is a worthy object lesson to all other states. Being 
located in the very heart of the great corn belt, Indiana has 
had the same difficulties to overcome in the way of mud and 
physical handicaps that are met in any section. Its present lead- 
ership seems due to but two chief causes : far-seeing educational 
leaders and expedient school legislation. Among the legal 
provisions furthering the consolidation of schools in Indiana 




Track Team, John Swaney School 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



161 



are three of vital effect : i. The township is the unit of school 
organization. The management of all township educational 
interests is in the hands of one man, the township school 
director, who is elected by the people. This trustee employs 
teachers, buys sup- 
plies, directs the 
construction and 
improvement o f 
buildings, and per- 
forms all other 
services commonly 
rendered by local 
boards of directors. 
This concentration 
will be readily seen 
to lead to the union 
of schools. 2. The 
township trustee 
may legally close 
any school having 
an average daily 
attendance of fif- 
teen or fewer, and 
must abandon and 
consolidate all 
schools having an 
average daily at- 
tendance of not 
more than twelve. 
In the year 1907, 
according ' to the 
statement of Su- 
perintendent Cot- 
ton, this law re- 




U6DU>- 

THC CIRCLES IN ORDER OF SIZE SYMB0U2E AN C* 
PZNOmjRE OF $1,000% AND Ss.oca&t FOR 
CONVEYANCE OF PUPILS. W 

Map of Indiana Showing the Extent of 
Consolidation 

Indiana leads all other states in consolidation. Here 
about 600 consolidated schools have been estab- 
lished and about 20,000 school children are trans- 
ported daily 



162 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

suited in the abandonment of about one thousand weak district 
schools. 3. A law permitting the use of public funds for the 
transportation of children, without which the system is prac- 
tically impossible, is also on the statutes. 

Consolidation is common in Indiana in eighty-two out of a 
total of ninety-two counties. Among the counties that lead 
in this respect are Delaware, Montgomery, LaGrange, Tippe- 
canoe, Johnson, Hamilton, Wayne, Henry, Elkhart, Clinton, 
and Davies counties. The movement in Delaware County 
began in 1898 and has steadily grown until over half the entire 
county is now consolidated. Fifty-nine schools have been 
abandoned, seventy-nine wagons are used in the county, and 
1,464 children are transported. Six of the fourteen consoli- 
dated schools of the county maintain good four-year high- 
school courses. Liberty township is wholly centralized in 
one school at the small village of Selma. A good four-year 
high-school course is offered in this school, nine teachers are 
employed, and 345 children are enrolled, 216 of whom are 
transported. Thirteen wagons are used in the transportation 
of the children, drivers being hired at an average daily cost 
of $1.85. Another of the best instances of school consolidation 
in Indiana is the Center Grove Consolidated School of White 
River Township in Johnson County. This school is one of 
the largest, most expensive, and most elaborate consolidated 
schools in the United States. It is, moreover, a true country 
school, being located on a six-acre plot of ground two miles 
from any town. The building, which was erected at a total 
cost of about $35,000, was dedicated September 3, 1908. 

The following table, quoted from the Indiana State Report 
for 1910, gives a good summary of the present status of con- 
solidation in Indiana: 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 163 

Statistics on Consolidation in Indiana. 
(Reported Dec. 31, 1909.) 

A. 

1. Total number of schools abandoned prior to the opening of 

schools September, 1909 1,402 

2. Number of schools transported to other district schools.... 471 

3. Number of schools transported to town or city schools 591 

4. Number of consolidated graded schools made up of two 

district schools 222 

5. Number of consolidated graded schools made up of three 

district schools 94 

6. Number of consolidated graded schools made up of four 

district schools 43 

7. Number of consolidated graded schools made up of more 

than four district schools 42 

B. 

1. Number of consolidated schools doing one year high school 

work 53 

2. Number doing two years' high school work 126 

3. Number doing three years' high school work 218 

4. Number doing four years' high school work 419 

C 

1. Number of children transported 19,293 

2. Number of wagons used in transporting children 1,241 

3. Cost per wagon per day, average $1.86 

4. Total cost all wagons per day $2,316.44 

5. Number of pupils transported by school wagons or pri- 

vate conveyances 18,767 

6. Number of pupils transported by interurban cars 470 

7. Number of pupils transported by steam cars 56 

D. 
Number of consolidated schools employing — 

Grade High 

School. School. 

Two teachers 292 93 

Three teachers 107 81 

Four teachers 130 66 



1 64 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Five teachers 59 41 

Six teachers 35 26 

Seven teachers 29 24 

Eight teachers 20 11 

Nine teachers 15 13 

Ten teachers 4 3 

More than ten teachers 17 5 

Minnesota. Notwithstanding severe winters and heavy 
snows, many northern states have tested consolidation and 




Consolidated School, Lewiston, Minnesota 

A nine-acre farm and a system of extension work are two helpful features of 

this school 

found it feasible. In Minnesota a law providing for the 
union of schools was enacted in 1903. Since this time over 
130 consolidated schools have been established. The most 
notable example of consolidation in Minnesota is found 
near the village of Lewiston, in Winona County. The 
Lewiston Consolidated School comprises four districts and 
is housed in a modern, commodious building, efficiently 
equipped in every way. The total enrollment is one hundred 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 165 

seventy-five, with a high-school enrollment of forty. Nine 
teachers are employed. The school term is nine months in 
length, and the annual expense of maintenance in 1910 was 
$8,740, of which $3,600, according to the laws of Minnesota, 
was furnished by state aid. A distinctive feature making the 
Lewiston school a notable example of consolidation is its nine- 
acre school farm. A second development of marked signifi- 
cance in this school is its extension work. This takes the form 
of agricultural lectures, corn contests, farmers' institutes, and 
a special four months' course in agriculture and manual train- 
ing, offered during the winter, which was attended in 1910 by 
fourteen pupils. The efficiency of such effort for young men 
and women who are compelled to leave school prematurely is 
self-evident, and points the way to a large field of service for 
the consolidated schools of the future. 

Iowa. In Iowa, likewise, the people are quietly proceeding 
to attain the advantages of consolidation for their children. 
Here the movement has affected twenty-five counties and re- 
sulted in the establishment of sixty union schools. Among 
the most pretentious of these is the school at Marathon, in 
Buena Vista County. The territory of this school is com- 
posed of what was formerly the independent district of Mara- 
thon and five rural districts. The present building was erected 
in 1903, at a cost of $20,000. Two hundred seventy-six chil- 
dren were enrolled in 1910, of whom one hundred fifty- 
two were transported. Six hacks are used, and over $2,000 is 
expended annually for transportation. Eight teachers are em- 
ployed, and a good four-year high-school course is maintained. 

Kansas. In passing westward in an investigation of con- 
solidation, some attention should be given to Kansas. Here 
conditions, both physical and social, are unusually favorable 
for the development of consolidation. State Superintendent 
E. T. Fairchild has great faith in this future promise and is 
doing much to fulfill it. Throughout his service as chief state 



1 66 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

school officer he has conducted an aggressive campaign for 
consolidation, and there are now seventy-five union schools in 
the state. Owing to the favorable road conditions, many of 
these schools are first established by moving two or three old 
buildings together and deferring the erection of a new building 
until the people of the district are thoroughly satisfied that the 
plan is good and practical. Such measures are not to be recom- 
mended permanently, but show well the adaptability of the idea. 
Consolidation does not necessarily mean the erection of elabo- 
rate and costly buildings as anti-consolidationists usually imply, 
though in most sections of the country there is no reason why 
the children of farmers should not enjoy a school equipment 
equal to any. Good schools of this kind can be housed, how- 
ever, in buildings costing all the way from three to thirty thou- 
sand dollars, and can be maintained in districts composed of 
from two small districts to an entire township. The real 
point of efficiency in the consolidated school is not that it is 
housed in a better building, attended by more children, and 
taught by better teachers than the small school, but that it 
is fundamentally different. Its great gain lies in the fact that 
it is a graded system, insuring a division of labor among 
teachers. 

Idaho and Washington. It is commonly asserted that con- 
solidation does not fit the sparsely settled sections of the far 
West. To a certain extent this is true, but the splendid reali- 
zations of some communities in Idaho, Washington, and other 
western states show the necessity of qualifying this statement. 
Among the best known consolidated schools of this section is 
that at Twin Falls, Idaho. This school is an example of com- 
plete village consolidation. Its territory comprises one con- 
gressional township and six additional square miles. About 
seven hundred children are enrolled, one hundred of whom are 
in the high school. The routes vary from two to six miles, 
and fifteen wagons are used for the transportation of about 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



167 



three hundred children. A school farm of four acres is main- 
tained, and every effort is made to adapt the course of study 
to the needs of the pupils. 

The state of Washington, notwithstanding its youth, has 
outstripped many of the more conservative eastern states, and 
now (191 2) practices consolidation in thirty-one of its thirty- 
eight counties, showing in all a record of 120 consolidated 




Consolidated School, Enumclaw, Washington 

This school has grounds of eleven acres. Cost of building, $75,000 

districts. In King County, which leads in the movement, 
twelve consolidated schools have been established. Of these 
the most pretentious is the consolidated school at Enumclaw. 
The territory of the Enumclaw consolidated district consists 
of the town of Enumclaw and two adjoining country districts. 
The grounds contain eleven acres of land. A modern three- 
story brick building has been erected and equipped at a cost 
of $75,000. The first floor of this building contains the gym- 
nasium, engine room, household science and manual training 
rooms, and the laboratories. The second floor has eight beau- 
tiful classrooms for the grades, while the third floor is devoted 



l6& COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

to the high school. The large sum expended for this build- 
ing and the care with which it has been planned and con- 
structed give the Enumclaw district the distinction of sup- 
porting probably the most magnificent consolidated school in 
the world. 

Consolidation in Washington, however, because of the vast- 
ness of county units and the consequent weakness of rural 
school supervision, is frequently undertaken only for purposes 
of supervision, and does not always imply a physical union 
of isolated schools as understood elsewhere. Under this plan 
the various schools of the consolidated district remain in 
their original location for the accommodation of the children 
of the lower grades, and an enlarged building is erected in the 
center of the district for pupils of the high school and gram- 
mar grades. A well-trained teacher is then employed to serve 
in the double capacity of high-school principal and super- 
intendent for the outlying districts. The majority of these 
consolidated high schools or "central schools" are located in 
towns, and many, as cited above, are of expensive and elabo- 
rate equipment. 

Louisiana and the South. A great wave of educational 
progress is now sweeping over the South, and a considerable 
part of this movement takes form through the consolidation 
of country schools. Readers who think of this section in terms 
of its former indifference will be surprised to learn that there 
are now (1912) over two hundred fifty consolidated country 
schools in the state of Louisiana alone, and that Florida annu- 
ally expends over $25,000 for transportation, while Georgia 
and North Carolina have both made surprising progress in this 
line. "Scarcely a week passes," says State Superintendent 
J. Y. Joyner of North Carolina, "in which the state super- 
intendent does not receive invitations to speak to interested 
communities on the subject of consolidation." Consolidation 
in the South is, generally speaking, much less expensive than 





The Old and the New in Louisiana 

Consolidation did it all. There are now 250 consolidated schools in Louisiana, 
which ranks first among southern states in this respect 



lyo COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

in the states formerly quoted, but it is none the less effective 
and creditable, and nowhere more striking in its advantages. 

First among southern states in the matter of consolidation 
stands Louisiana. Here the movement began in 1902 and in 
the single year 1910 effected the closing of over sixty schools. 
The state superintendent's report for 1910 contains the follow- 
ing interesting data upon this subject: 

Total number of consolidated schools 208 

Number of consolidations effected in 1910 61 

Number of wagons used 210 

Total number of children transported 4,088 

Total average expenditure per month for transportation $7,272 

Average cost per month per child transported $2.19 

Average number of children transported by each wagon used.. 17 

Average original cost of wagons $136 

Among the parishes, or counties, that lead in consolidation 
in Louisiana are Avoyelles, Calcasieu, DeSoto, and Natchi- 
toches, which now have ten consolidated schools each, and 
Tangipahoa, which has twelve. As an example of these 
schools may be cited the Grand Prairie School of St. Landry 
parish. This school is located in the country ten miles from 
any railway. "Three years ago," says State Superintendent 
T. H. Harris, "it was taught in a dilapidated one-room build- - 
ing by one teacher. It is now a state approved high school 
with eight trained teachers and two hundred sixty pupils. 
Consolidation did it all." 

Advantages of Consolidation. The superiority of the 
rural graded school system is so obvious and has been so 
fully considered in the preceding chapter that it need not be 
exhaustively treated here. It is well, however, to re-state the 
three chief, fundamental advantages of the consolidated school 
— advantages which are wholly impossible of attainment under 
the present one-teacher system. 

1. The consolidated school is the only known method of 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



171 



providing a true country school with home high-school privi- 
leges for farm children. 

2. It is the only way of insuring an enrollment large 
enough to provide the social and cultural contact with com- 
panionable associates necessary to the best development of 
every child. 

3. It is the only method of securing and holding trained 
teachers for country schools and of making possible a division 
of labor whereby these teachers may have sufficient time to 
do good work and choose the grades or special subjects for 
which they are best fitted. 

A bulletin on The Consolidation of Country Schools, issued 
by the University of Illinois, at Urbana, contains an excellent 
detailed summary of the advantages of consolidation. An 
effective list of general conclusions given in the same source 
will be found of great value in meeting the objections of 
unbelievers. 

Difficulties Involved. The chief difficulties involved in 
the consolidation of schools may be briefly summarized under 
six headings: (1) roads, (2) cost, (3) undesirable drivers, 
(4) inadequate legislation, (5) conservatism and prejudice, 
(6) the competition of other types of schools. The first three 
and the last of these points will be discussed in following sec- 
tions. The remaining difficulties, conservatism and inade- 
quate legislation, can be overcome only through the enlighten- 
ment and education of the general rural public upon this ques- 
tion. Hence the need for state-wide consolidation campaigns 
similar to those recently inaugurated in Kansas and Indiana. 
Such agitation has a direct effect upon conservatism, and 
since farmers largely control state legislatures, shows, in the 
end, an indirect bearing upon legislation. 

Some Phases of the Question of Transportation. The 
problem of roads and transportation is the chief difficulty to 
be overcome in most efforts toward consolidation. It is often 



172 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

declared by those who have not made a thorough study of con- 
ditions that "transportation is an impossibility with us." Per- 
haps it is, but if so, the difficulty is probably in the lack of 
determined faith and will power on the part of the community 
rather than in the texture of the mud. After all, the problem 
merely resolves itself into the question of whether mud shall 
triumph or whether civilization shall advance in spite of the 
mud. Those who fear the difficulties of transportation should 
reflect that thousands of children are now being hauled over 
the mud roads of Ohio and Indiana, where conditions are 
typical of those in any of our great agricultural sections. "As 
to our roads," writes a local resident of Ashtabula County, 
Ohio, "I would say that we probably have as deplorable clay 
roads as any county in the state. During a part of the year 
they are as bad as roads can be and still be roads." 

Among the many false impressions that prevail with farmers 
and others relative to the public transportation of school chil- 
dren are the following: 

1. It is argued that the cost is exorbitant. But such is not 
the case, as statistics prove. In Ashtabula County, Ohio, the 
roads are not hard, and the average daily cost of running 
each wagon is but $1.64, while in Trumbell County it averages 
only $1.52. In Indiana the average daily expense of each 
wagon over the entire state in 1908 was $2.07 and in 19 10, 
$1.86. The wagons used are manufactured expressly for the 
purpose, at a cost of from $80 to $175, and accommodate 
about twenty children. 

2. The problem of procuring competent and reliable drivers 
is often cited as an insurmountable difficulty. This is largely 
an imaginary fear. Not laborers, but labor, is the present 
world-need, and when the position of hack driving is once 
established in a community there are soon several candidates 
from whom to select, just as in the case of mail carriers. 
Drivers in Indiana and Ohio are paid from $30 to $45 a 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



173 



month. They are hired by contract, are required by law to 
be worthy, respectable citizens, and are placed under bond 
during their terms of service and made responsible for the con- 
duct of the children while in the wagon. Smoking, profane 
language, and other misconduct need not be tolerated any more 
in a driver than in a teacher. Dismissal should immediately 
follow such action. 

3. Some imagine that the daily drive to school will con- 
sume hours of time. This, also, is wholly unnecessary. If 
the routes are too long, 

more wagons may be em- 
ployed. The routes of con- 
solidated schools now es- 
tablished in the United 
States average four miles, 
and need seldom be longer 
than six. In the consoli- 
dated school at Buffalo 
Center, Iowa, where the 
routes are of usual length, 
drivers begin to collect the 
children from 7:15 a. m. 
to 8:15 a. m. } and return 
them to their homes from 
4 145 p. m. to 5 145 p. m. Consolidated schools may close 
early in the afternoon and thus mitigate this difficulty in part. 
Moreover, it should be remembered that as things are at pres- 
ent, children trudging through mud and snow frequently do 
not get home until dark in the winter time. 

4. The ventilation and the moral tone of the wagons are 
often other fears. But it should always be remembered that 
wagons, schools, and anything else can be rightly managed 
when the people demand proper management. There is no 
reason whatever why a wagon should not be properly ventil- 




Consolidated School Wagon 

Delphi Wagon Works, Delphi, Indiana 



174 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

ated, or even heated, if desired. Small stoves are sometimes 
used for this purpose, though carriage heaters and lap-robes 
are usually sufficient. 

5. Some complain that children are forced to wait at cross- 
roads or elsewhere for the wagons in stormy weather. The 
only remedy here is to stop the practice and run enough 
wagons to collect the children from their homes. 

What the unthinking, fearful farmer or observer cannot see 
is that all such conditions as those answered above need not 
be tolerated. Transportation is therefore used as the final 
argument balking the whole movement for consolidation. The 
same people cannot see the transportation now in operation in 
every state in the Union, where farm boys and girls are cover- 
ing hundreds of miles daily in their efforts to get high-school 
privileges from urban high schools. As a last resort for the 
solution of the difficulties of transportation, if there is no 
other way at present, why not consolidate, conduct a good 
school while in session, and discontinue it during the worst 
weather ? 

But in spite of all difficulties, the future of this question of 
transportation is full of promise. It is now no wild prophecy 
to herald the advent of the day when all main-traveled roads 
shall be hard roads, and when automobiles and electric cars 
shall be the common vehicles of transportation for the country, 
school children of America. Then we shall have a system of 
transportation sufficiently rapid, convenient, and efficient to 
settle the last vestige of doubt relating to the question of con- 
veyance. And this day of rapid transportation, as set forth 
in an earlier chapter, will bring not only the solution of this 
problem but of many others now engaging the serious atten- 
tion of farmers. 

The Cost of Consolidated Schools. Cost is another argu- 
ment always advanced against consolidation. Concerning this 
point there is much misinformation. Good consolidated 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 175 

schools will cost money — more money than is now being 
expended upon country schools. Let this be distinctly under- 
stood ; and let there be no hedging about it. Let there rather 
be great gratitude that it is so, for farmers are now spending 
altogether too little upon their schools, as they themselves 
know full well. The truth, however, is that owing to our poor 
rural school system, much money is wasted in spite of this 
attempted economy. When cost is measured on the per capita 
basis, which is the only accurate method of comparison, con- 
solidation is found to be cheaper than the present system of 
administration. Interesting facts have recently come to light 
regarding this point, through the exhaustive study of Mr. 
George W. Knorr, of the Department of Agriculture. (See 
bibliography, section 6.) In schools having an average daily 
attendance of less than nine pupils, in Hardin County, Iowa, 
it was found, for example, that the annual per capita cost for 
each child in 1908 was $40.78. In Olmsted County, Minne- 
sota, the cost per pupil in schools of the same type was $56.50. 
First grade country schools, that is, schools of the highest 
standard, in the same county averaged $32.85 per pupil annu- 
ally. In the John Swaney Consolidated School in Illinois, on 
the other hand, the annual cost per pupil was but $27.16, and 
in forty-five typical consolidated schools in various states the 
annual average cost per pupil was $33.83, a sum less than 
that of the nine-pupil schools of Iowa and Minnesota. From 
this it is evident that after the initial expense of providing 
new buildings has been met, the consolidated school furnishes 
a much higher grade of educational opportunity to more 
children, and at less expense than the one-teacher school. 

The matter of tuition, also, has some bearing upon this 
question of cost. No leakage of the present rural educational 
system is more thoughtlessly overlooked than this. Farmers 
annually pay out thousands of dollars in tuition to city high 
schools that might far better be conserved at home in a con- 



176 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

solidated school. Strangely enough, those who expend the 
most money for this purpose are often the first to object to 
the expense of consolidating. What they fail to see is that 
the good consolidated school, with a complete high-school 
course, not only keeps this money at home, but, through the 
attendance and tuition of non-resident pupils, usually brings 
in an additional sum. In the John Swaney Consolidated 
School, there are enough tuition pupils enrolled to aggre- 
gate yearly over one thousand dollars to the school. More- 
over, a good school, it must be remembered, adds to the prop- 
erty values of a community, as does a railroad, an electric car 
line, or any other improvement. Still another factor fre- 
quently overlooked in weighing this matter of school better- 
ment is the increased attraction of a community possessing 
good school privileges for the best class of farmers and 
renters. 

The Consolidated Country School Compared with Other 
Types of Rural High Schools. The advantages of a 
secondary education for country children, which the consoli- 
dated school has been shown to provide so admirably, are con- 
sidered by some to be equally well afforded by the township 
high school. But the experience of Illinois, where schools of 
this type have been legalized since 1872, and where eighty- 
three are now established, has not shown this to be true. In 
the first place, the township high school, being under the con- 
trol of the entire population of a township, is almost invariably 
voted into the largest city and located in an urban environ- 
ment. The course of study, therefore, tends toward city 
conditions and usually makes no provisions for agriculture 
and other subject-matter especially related to farm life. Some 
of the better schools of this type do provide such courses, it 
is true, but being thus removed from actual contact with the 
soil, this work is likely to be more formal than genuine. 
Grant, however, that the course of study can be sufficiently 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



177 



balanced and made to answer the mutual needs of both city 
and country children — which is altogether feasible — and the 
township school still fails to solve the problem of the coun- 
try school, because it is removed from the country. It allows 
a break between the elementary and secondary school which is 
always felt in the undue proportion of those who drop out 
at this time., This break can never be comfortably tolerated nor 
corrected so long as rural high schools are located in cities 




Township High School, Princeton, Illinois 

A good type of school for many purposes, but not one affording an adequate 
solution of the country school problem 



and large towns, several miles from the farm homes that 
support them. What we need, and must have, to solve the 
problem of rural education, is not an urban school whose 
influences lead young people of the farms directly away from 
the land, but a country school — a country school, improved, 
modernized, and adapted to the needs of present country life. 
Aside from this grave charge of leading young people away 
from farm life, it must be conceded also that the township 



178 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

high school, providing only for the older children of advanced 
rank, is both unduly expensive and selfish. The money ex- 
pended in the construction of a high-school building designed 
to accommodate only a small proportion of the rural school 
population of a township, may far better be used to build a 
consolidated school which provides equal educational advan- 
tages for all children, from the kindergarten through the 
secondary school. 

Various other types of schools have been devised for solv- 
ing the problem of rural secondary education. In most 
instances the aim has been to make these schools strongly 
agricultural in tendency. Minnesota offers special state aid 
to city high schools for introducing agriculture into their 
courses of study. Such schools are commonly known as agri- 
cultural high schools, and are considered by many an adequate 
solution of the problem of rural secondary education. The 
truth, however, is that they fail as grievously as the township 
high school. The schools chosen for this purpose must neces- 
sarily be city schools, for the simple reason that in states 
adopting this method there are no rural high schools. This 
makes the work foreign to the environment of the schools and 
isolates it from that fundamental social and economic contact 
with actual farm life which characterizes the genuine coun- 
try school. Concede, however, the possibility of making such 
schools pedagogically right, and the fact still remains that 
they, too, are not the home school of the country child, but 
are remotely located in towns and cities and cut off from his 
life. Thus both the township high school and the agricultural 
high school fail to solve either the elementary or the secondary 
phase of the problem of rural education. 

Mississippi has adopted a system of county agricultural high 
schools, providing one special high school emphasizing agri- 
culture, in each county. Such a system may render good serv- 
ice within its limitations, but obviously can never suffice as 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 179 

a system of public education for all country children, since not 
one farm child in fifty will ever be affected by it. Georgia 
supports a system of congressional-district agricultural schools 
to which the same objection applies even more strongly, since 
they are farther removed from the homes of farm children and 
are also strongly vocational in character. In Wisconsin and 
Michigan, county agricultural schools have lately been estab- 
lished. These are excellent schools of their type and are ren- 
dering exceptional service, but they also are too frankly voca- 
tional and too remote in distance to furnish education adapted 
to the varying ambitions of all farm children. Massachusetts, 
and other eastern states, where the problems of livelihood 
press closely upon a congested population, are beginning to 
establish vocational agricultural schools. The most suggestive 
of these is the Smith Agricultural School, at Northampton, 
Massachusetts. This school constitutes an unusual experi- 
ment station in agricultural education, but its primal purpose 
of training consistently for- agriculture as a vocation is not to 
be imitated in a public-school system educating free American 
children toward a free choice of life work. Herein lies a most 
significant educational distinction tempting to special per- 
sonal comment on a vexed question. 

A great demand is being made today by farmers and others 
connected with country life for instruction in agriculture. 
Such training, it is contended, will hold boys on the farm 
and make farmers of them. Personally, I am as much inter- 
ested in the making of farmers and in holding the right kind 
of farmers upon the land as anyone. But to this argument 
I take exception. Let us have farmers who are farmers from 
choice, not from force. As a teacher in country schools, I 
do not teach agriculture either to make or unmake farmers. 
I teach it for two simple reasons : first, because it is the basic 
experience of my young people, the experience through whose 
terminology they interpret everything else; and second, be- 



l8o COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

cause it is a great racial heritage of science and information 
which every child should know, just as he should know his- 
tory. If a boy born on a farm wants to be a doctor, very well 
and good; let him be one. If his classmate desires to be a 
farmer, very well, indeed ; let him be one — by all means. But 
give the two boys a reasonable elementary education expressed 
in terms of their daily lives, and leave them perfectly free and 
capable of weighing various lines of work and choosing the 
one which most appeals to them. In short, let us make agri- 
culture and farm-life experience the starting point of ele- 
mentary rural education, not its ultimate goal. 

For the complete and satisfying solution of the problem of 
rural education and for the general reconstruction and redirec- 
tion of country life, the consolidated country school is the best 
agency thus far devised. Some of its points of advantage for 
this twofold purpose may be summarized as follows : 

1. It is a democratic public school directly in the hands 
of the people who support it. 

2. It is at the door of farmhouses, and is wholly available ; 
even more available, when public transportation is provided, 
than the present one-teacher school. 

3. Every child in the farm community is reached by it. 
All children attend; not a favored few. This is not true of 
the types of schools cited above. 

4. It is a school of reasonable cost. 

5. It accommodates and provides for all grades, includ- 
ing the high school. It is unselfish; the township high school 
and others proposed, are selfish because at best they neglect 
the younger children. 

6. It preserves a balanced course of study. While edu- 
cating in terms of farm-life experience, it does not force chil- 
dren prematurely into any vocation, yet prepares them for 
all. This is the only legitimate course for a public school 
system designed to educate all children. 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 181 

7. The consolidated country school, as already shown in 
the account of the John Swaney School and as will be fur- 
ther set forth in concluding paragraphs, forms the best social 
and educational center for the community thus far developed. 

The Need of a County System of Districting for Con- 
solidation. Great waste occurs in the present hit-and-miss 
method through which consolidation is advancing. If consoli- 
dated schools continue to spring up here and there like mush- 
rooms, as they have done and are now doing, it is apparent 
that the final outcome will show them poorly distributed and 
unsystematized. There will be instances where more schools 
are established in a given section than are really needed and 
others where isolated and unrelated corners of territory are 
cut off and left out of consideration altogether. This, in fact, 
is what has already happened in many cases. The splendid 
effort of the John Swaney School illustrates this point, in that 
the building stands near the geographic center of the township 
and yet accommodates but three small districts. This lack of 
large planning is not only unfortunate in spacial relations, but 
is unduly expensive. 

To ascertain the extent of this financial loss and general 
inconvenience, the Department of Agriculture recently asked 
Mr. George W. Knorr to make a special investigation of the 
consolidated schools of the United States. The report of this 
study is now available in a free bulletin entitled Consolidated 
Rural School and Organisation of a County System, which is 
one of the most valuable pieces of literature thus far printed 
on consolidation. To overcome the errors of the present 
unsystematized method of consolidating schools, Mr. Knorr 
advocates the organization of a county system for con- 
solidation. Under this plan each county of every state where 
consolidation is advancing would be carefully divided and 
planned into various consolidated school districts. These dis- 
tricts are not to be co-extensive with townships, but are to be 



iSz COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

determined by more vital factors than formal boundary lines. 
Re-districting of this type does not mean that a whole county 
is to be consolidated at once or at any one time. The idea is 
only to project a harmonized and correlated plan toward which 
to work. The objection that neighborhoods will not follow 
such a plan is to be overcome by a wise and thorough consider- 
ation of all centrifugal and centripetal local social tendencies 
before the proposed districts are mapped out. 

Four chief factors are considered in forming these county 
systems of consolidated districts, namely: (i) population, (2) 
land values and tax unit areas, (3) topography, and (4) 
roads. It will be seen that in insuring the right proportion or 
control of each of these factors, the idea is productive of great 
good. It is further recommended by Mr. Knorr, and by all 
others who adequately understand the problems of country 
life education, that the consolidated schools thus provided shall 
be located in the open country or occasionally in small rural 
villages. When the center of the district falls near a large 
town or a city, the location of the consolidated school is 
planned a few miles outside its boundaries. 

The following map showing the application of this idea to 
Olmsted County, Minnesota, and the accompanying explana- 
tion are reproduced here from Mr. Knorr's bulletin. Olm- 
sted County is a typical Middle Western county. The gain 
accruing to it from this re-districting would hold in every 
county where consolidation is at all feasible. 

The most apparent general advantages of the county sys- 
tem of districting for consolidation briefly enumerated are : 

1. It prevents waste from overlapping and neglect from 
overlooking. 

2. It equalizes burdens of cost and taxation, and insures 
the adequate financial support of each school established. 

3. It prevents the establishment of small, inferior con- 
solidated schools. 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



I8 3 



4. It assists in determining the best and most economical 
transportation routes and favors the best control of topo- 
graphical conditions. 




Map of Olmsted County, Minnesota, Showing Proposed Consolidated 

Districts 

The heavy lines are the boundaries of the proposed consolidated 
districts. The light lines are township lines. The location of the 
proposed consolidated school buildings is shown by the conventional 
symbol, and to assist in comparisons the locations of the present dis- 
trict, graded, and high schools are also indicated. The numbers before 
"G." and "H. S." denote probable enrollment in grades and high 
school, respectively, in the proposed consolidated schools. 

Under this project, the present 142 graded and district schools would 
be replaced by 21 strong, well-attended consolidated schools. It will 
be noted that for Districts XII and XX, Rochester and Stewartsville, 
respectively, consolidated schools at a distance from town are sug- 
gested for the rural pupils. With the exception of these two schools 
all others in the county are replaced by consolidated schools. The 
Roman numerals auolv to the number of the orooosed districts. 



184 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

5. It equalizes population to a large degree and prevents 
the injury of the schools established by any temporary shift- 
ing of the population. 

6. It overcomes the petty jealousies fostered by adhering 
to small district boundary lines, and makes it easier to dissolve 
small districts in states where the one-room school district still 
obtains. 

7. It avoids contention and strife over the question of 
locating the new school. 

8. It defines the boundaries of country communities and 
fosters the growth of community feeling. 

9. It furthers the progress of consolidation and hastens the 
establishment of complete consolidated country schools which 
shall become great country life institutions serving as con- 
structive forces and social centers for the communities they 
define. 

In view of these and other advantages of the county system 
of districting for consolidation, it is greatly to be hoped 
that many states will soon pass legislation furthering its prac- 
tice. This has already been done in Minnesota, where an 
optional law for this purpose is now in force. 

The Consolidated School as a Community Center, and 
in the Future Development of Country Life. The great 
adaptability of the good consolidated country school for com- 
munity service and rural life regeneration cannot be too 
strongly emphasized. Wherever it has been established, in 
practically every instance of the two thousand cases now on 
record, this attribute has been illustrated. One of our greatest 
country life leaders has expressed a fear that the consolidated 
school will break down community feeling through the re- 
moval of local district schools. But this is exactly what it 
does not do. The consolidated school builds up the country 
community as no other institution of rural life has yet done. 
It even defines community boundaries and establishes a com- 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 



185 



munity sense where none has existed before. It overcomes 
petty jealousies, swallows small differences, and enlarges and 
intensifies the community idea into something significant and 
tangible. It brings neighbors on opposite sides of the hill 
together, introduces those who live on different roads, forces 
the civil meeting of families that "haven't spoken since the 
war," and in every way furthers the progress of the brother- 
hood of man among farmers. 




School Garden, John Swaney School 

The country school of the future will have gardens, hills, fields, and orchards, 
where work is done with both hands and head 



All this the consolidated school accomplishes through its 
marvelous possibilities for every form of education and en- 
lightenment. Not children only, but adults as well, are reached 
by it. Its future development in the days of hard roads, elec- 
tric car lines and automobiles can scarcely be appreciated at 
the present time. Six million country children, it is esti- 
mated, will eventually come under its influence. But though 
good today, the consolidated school of the future, which shall 
arise to meet the needs of these children, will be better still. 



1 86 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



In the first place, it will have worked out its salvation in 
terms of the life about it and will be neither an ungraded 
group, like many of the one-teacher schools of the present, nor 
a lock-step machine like the average city school. It will be 
beautifully housed and charmingly located in the very heart of 
God's out-of-doors. Its music will be the song of birds, the 
murmur of trees, and the laughter and shout of happy child- 
hood. It will have gar- 
dens, hills, fields, and or- 
chards, where work is 
done with both hands and 
head. It will be a center 
of community pride and 
effort for those beyond 
school as well as for chil- 
dren. To it will turn the 
old man and the kinder- 
garten child. Tired moth-* 
ers will visit it and learn 
how to prevent their wear- 
iness. Discouraged farm- 
ers will call upon it and 
absorb the courage of its 
new science. Young peo- 
ple will come to it because 
it reflects life's best in- 
spiration and hope. Its 
instruction will be given 
in terms of daily living and present activity. Life will be its 
text and how to live it fully, deeply, and richly will be its theme. 
The spirit of this instruction will go out through all the country- 
side and find expression in better homes, redirected churches, 
strong, true-principled farm organizations, hard roads, and 
greater crop yields ; in "better business, better farming, better 




On the Campus, John Swaney 
School 



CONSOLIDATED COUNTRY SCHOOLS 187 

living," and in a happier people and a more satisfying country 
life. 

Much has been said and written of the consolidated school. 
Much still remains to be said before the general public will 
awaken to its possibilities. In conclusion, let it be repeated 
that the consolidated country school in its complete and fully 
adapted form is the best solution of the country school prob- 
lem yet devised. Personally, I do not wish to dogmatize upon 
any phase of country life, or anything else, but upon this 
point I stand firm. Years of struggle as a country teacher 
have thoroughly convinced me of this truth, and I challenge 
anyone, be he farmer or educator, to assume the full responsi- 
bilities of a country school without becoming persuaded. The 
country teacher of today has a great mission to discharge in 
converting farmers to this view and in furthering the prog- 
ress of the consolidation movement. This responsibility is 
considered at some length in Chapter X and is too self- 
evident to need further argument. With all its weaknesses 
the country school, even as it is today, stands preeminent as 
an influence for rural community improvement. It is the 
door through which all forms of advancement may most 
quickly enter. To contribute a share in this field of progress 
by enlightening others and revealing the necessity of an 
improved consolidated school system is therefore incumbent 
upon every country teacher. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 

This book has thus far been devoted largely to pointing 
out the possibilities of country life. The cooperative country 
community, attractive home, spiritualized church, active farm 
organization, and redirected school are all largely ideals, how- 
ever, and are still pretty much in the realm of the future. It 
will therefore be the purpose throughout the remainder of this 
discussion to show how these ideals may be realized. In this 
attempt the doctrine of the leadership of the country teacher is 
advanced. 

Scarcity of Rural Leaders and Its Effect. Before en- 
larging upon this general thesis let us first pick up a thread 
from Chapter I where it was stated that a chief character- 
istic of country life is its isolation, or openness, and that one 
of the effects of this openness is a scarcity of leaders. In this 
respect the rural community is essentially different from the 
town or city. The city is composed of men and women of all 
professions and occupations. This affords many leaders of 
diverse and varying points of view. There are lawyers, 
teachers, business men, ministers, and editors, all eager and 
capable of leadership and able to render good public service 
of this kind. The country community, on the other hand, is 
composed almost entirely of people of one pursuit. This nat- 
urally develops a common point of view and causes farmers 
to fail to appreciate many opportunities not directly related 
to their own line of work and thought. 

Most of the slow growth and retardation of country life 

188 



LEADERSHIP OR THE COUNTRY TEACHER 189 

can be traced to this want of good active leaders. It is not 
because farmers are intellectually inferior in any sense or 
even because desire is lacking that progressive movements 
mature so slowly in the country. Country people often neglect 
to begin a measure that they well know will add to the con- 
venience and welfare of their lives. The consolidation of 
schools is a typical instance. Many communities appreciate 
the advantage of such a change but fail to act simply be- 
cause there is "nobody to start it." One of the worst fea- 
tures of the local jealousy so often found in a farm neigh- 
borhood lies in the fact that capable men who might develop 
the power of good leadership refrain from action through 
fear of incurrring the displeasure of public opinion. 

Opportunity and Advantages of the Country Teacher 
for Community Leadership. Right here lies the country 
teacher's opportunity. For, in the first place, the position of 
the teacher as a director of children requires that she be at 
least something of a leader; the more developed her powers 
of leadership, the greater her influence both within and without 
the schoolroom. Moreover, people turn to the school as a cen- 
ter of authority, and look to the teacher, without jealousy 
or criticism, as one who has the right to lead. She is in 
close and varied contact with them and on the same level. She 
also embodies a new point of view with often a larger per- 
spective than any one else, and is sensitive to community needs 
and conditions. Furthermore, the teacher is the director of 
the one community institution in the neighborhood, the only 
all-inclusive community institution society affords, and in many 
instances in the open country, where granges, farmers' clubs, 
and even churches are sometimes wanting, the only social- 
service institution of any kind. She is also the guardian of 
the educational interests of the community and may easily 
enlarge her office to include adult instruction and thus intro- 
duce ideas of progress relating to all phases of farm living, 



190 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

social, economic, and scientific. The fact that she usually 
comes from outside the neighborhood and has no pecuniary 
interests to promote also adds to her power. To these advan- 
tages may be added the further argument that country teachers 
of all rural social workers are most easily trained for leader- 
ship. This is true because as a group they already possess 
the proper attitude and are at present better able than others 
to obtain special training for rural leadership. 

Requirements for Leadership on the Part of Country 
Teachers. Hence no one person, or group of persons, can 
control the local rural situation and guide the trend of thought 
as can the country teacher, if she is adequately prepared and 
knows how to attack her problem. Her influence can be more 
direct and effective than that of any distant agricultural col- 
lege, experiment station, or commission. Ability to so cope 
with conditions, of necessity demands that she be either 
trained or self-educated to understand and appreciate the 
larger social movements underlying rural progress. She must 
realize the power of her own position, the influence of the 
school for which she is responsible, and the place of the home, 
the church, roads, farm organizations, and various rural 
agencies in bringing about a fuller and richer country life. 
She must understand and be interested in the problems of 
the farm, especially in the ultimate farm problem as set forth 
in the first chapter of this discussion, must realize the neces- 
sity of its proper solution, and appreciate something of its 
broad significance in the permanent and national welfare. 

To this understanding of farmers and farm conditions the 
country teacher who aspires to leadership must add a definite 
ideal of the possibilities and satisfaction of country com- 
munity life. She must hold a clear vision of what the local 
neighborhood, with all its limitations, may become. Having 
thus established a goal, she must then be able to imbue 
others with this idealism and enlist their cooperation toward 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 



191 



its realization. This means that she must formulate a pro- 
gram of work for community building, employing all the latent 
talent of the neighborhood, and that she must have some 
idea of how to execute this program. In this idea of execu- 
tion she must understand true leadership, not as aggressive- 
ness, but as a matter of suggestion and persuasion. She must 
realize that the best leader, like the best teacher, is the indi- 
vidual who develops the highest initiative and self-reliance in 




A Country School Prepared for Community Leadership 



his followers, and most quickly makes his own direction un- 
necessary. This implies in turn that the teacher shall know 
something of the larger movements of recent rural progress 
and of the function and development of other rural social 
institutions. It is for this reason that chapters relating to 
the farm home, the Grange, the country church, and the 
farmers' institute are included in this book, which has been 
written chiefly to assist country teachers toward this office 
of local leadership. 



192 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



Knowing all this, it then becomes the function of the coun- 
try teacher to enlighten others. Her problem is that of ac- 
cepting conditions as they now exist, of assuming control of 
a weak, neglected, and socially deficient school, and of bring- 
ing the children under her charge, and others of the com- 
munity, to appreciate the beauty and richness possible to 
country life. She thus becomes a leader of the people, the 
connecting link between them and their opportunities. Such 
a view dignifies and elevates rural teaching not only to the 
country teacher herself, but to all others, and when generally 
accepted will remove the bar sinister still too frequently laid 
upon this phase of the pedagogical profession. 

True Leadership Explained. By this leadership of the 
country teacher I do not mean something exalted, indefinite, 
and impossible. I mean only an increase and expansion of 
the good work now going on in scores of communities at the 
present time. I mean a movement quiet, humble, unassum- 
ing, and of small beginnings. I mean a leadership that first 
occupies itself with its legitimate task of teaching a good 
school, for no teacher can gain or hold the confidence of any 
community who is not first of all a good teacher. I mean a 
leadership, as I have tried to indicate throughout, that begins 
by leading dirt, double desks, and unsightly stoves out of 
the schoolroom and by leading soap and water, ventilation, 
and better teaching into it. I mean also a type of leadership 
that learns from others, is never unwilling to take the smallest 
suggestion from the simplest soul, and that leads for the 
service and comfort it may give rather than for commenda- 
tion before the eyes of men. Such leadership zvill be what 
has been termed true leadership because it will be a work of 
quiet, social direction, which sincerely seeks to stimulate and 
develop the ability of others rather than to exploit its own 
good parts. 

At this point I wish to call attention to the fact that the 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 



193 



criticism sometimes directed against this doctrine of country- 
teacher leadership is due chiefly to a wrong idea of leadership. 

Difficulties of Country Teaching. It will be argued by 
many that country teachers are incapable of such leadership, 
however humble, and that the case is hopeless, just because 
those available for the rural teaching force are so un- 
trained and short-sighted. 
It is undoubtedly true that 
few teachers, either rural 
or urban, fully appreciate 
the possibilities of their 
position. It is also true 
that country teachers are 
especially deficient in this 
ability. But at the same 
time it may be asked if 
these inexperienced young, 
teachers are wisely di- 
rected, or ever taught to 
see the larger relation- 
ships and meaning of 
country life. Here per- 
haps is a query which 

county superintendents, institute instructors, and normal school 
faculties may well ponder. 

Before censuring country teachers, the critic should con- 
sider the vast difficulty of their position and undertaking. The 
very limitations of the system under which they are forced 
to work, as shown in Chapter VII, are so numerous that an 
efficient degree of success is practically unattainable. The 
hard physical conditions, long muddy walks, cold lunches, 
heavy janitor work, poor ventilation, and other unsanitary con- 
ditions, are in themselves enough to tax the strength of any 
individual, to say nothing of the nervous strain and worry 




When First We Go to School 



194 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

occasioned in the management of twenty-five or thirty daily 
recitations and the general direction of an ungraded school. 
There is almost no virtue or ability not listed in the category 
of a good country teacher's accomplishments. She must pos- 
sess a fair degree of all-round scholarship; be something of 
an artist, carpenter, cook, musician, and gardener; know just 
what ails a smoky stove, a rattling window, or a dull boy; be 
able to bandage wounds, pull teeth, start fires, drive a frac- 
tious horse, conduct a Sunday school, or fish lost boots from 
the muddy depths of the public highway. And all this for 
the royal sum of forty or fifty dollars a month ! 

Professional isolation is another matter to be reckoned 
among the country teacher's troubles, and one more influen- 
tial and serious than first thought may suggest. The loneli- 
ness of meeting only the immature minds and interests of 
childhood, day after day, and of having no avenue of inti- 
mate adult discussion and professional inspiration shows in 
the great hunger of country teachers for pedagogical assist- 
ance and social diversion. But perhaps the most disheartening 
feature of rural school work, the factor worse than mud, iso- 
lation, low salaries, and smoky stoves, is the common attitude 
of other teachers toward this phase of teaching. In this 
connection it is consoling to reflect that when the full signifi- 
cance of rural prosperity is better understood, and the sterling 
spirit of the earnest country teacher more fully appreciated, 
this unhappy condition must soon disappear. 

The point to be emphasized in this discussion of the country 
teacher and her place, however, is that she may, and should, 
become a local leader. If the school is to function as the 
temporary institutional leader of the country community the 
teacher must necessarily assume this responsibility of local 
leadership. Her position as one controlling education makes 
it possible for her to do this effectively. It thus becomes her 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 



195 



privilege to serve as a medium between the people of the 
community and their opportunities, her immediate function 
being to study the prob- 
lematic social situations 
of farm life, and to bring 
enlightenment to others. 
This makes the country 
teacher zvho appreciates 
and realises her advan- 
tage the chief immediate 
factor in the solution of 
the farm problem. 

Tribute to Country 
Teachers. At this point 
I wish to pay deserved 
tribute to country teach- 
ers everywhere, and espe- 
cially to express a few 
words of gratitude to 
those with whom I have worked, and whose loyalty and effort 
are making possible the partial realization of new hopes for 
country schools and country life. It is true, as frequently main- 
tained, that country teachers are young and inexperienced and 
poorly prepared for their work. But it is also true that as a 
group they are filled with a great sincerity. In the recent rural 
regeneration their problems are more vital and of larger pro- 
portion than ever before. But, like country children, they 
have had unfair treatment educationally, especially from our 
state normal schools. With proper sympathy and understand- 
ing and direction, a new spirit descends upon country teachers, 
notwithstanding their youth and lack of training, and through 
this spirit they accomplish great things. The vision has been 
the thing lacking, the vision of the possibilities of the country 




Procuring the Necessary Kindling 



196 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

school and of how to realize these possibilities. It thus be- 
comes the duty of the state, through its normal schools, to 
uphold this vision to the end that it may itself have life 
more abundantly. 

Examples of Country Teacher Leadership. As a worker 
with country teachers, and for them, I have proved to my own 
satisfaction that when these possibilities are revealed in a 
constructive way, results are forthcoming in spite of nu- 
merous handicaps. For the benefit and conviction of those 
who are not quite willing to concede their faith so wholly, I am 
inserting here some extracts from the personal narratives of 
teachers whose stories I have requested for this purpose. The 
first of these is the record of a girl who has had no 
educational advantages beyond the eighth grade except frag- 
ments of two summer terms in a state normal school. This 
girl writes educational and country life articles for the local 
papers, participates in the programs of farmers' institutes, does 
what she can for church improvement, and in every possible 
way seeks to upbuild the country community in which she 
works. Moreover, so great is her vision of the possibilities of 
country life that she prefers country teaching to all other. 
The second story is that of a girl who confronted the hardest 
of all rural problems, a backward sectarian neighborhood. 
These people formerly insisted upon clinging to all their old 
ways. This teacher of leadership and vision has been among 
them two years, and they now see things differently. Neither 
of these girls has wished her identity revealed but they are 
both real country teachers and their stories are true. 

How Miss Mary Improved Her Country School 

During the year 1909-10 many strange stories were afloat concern- 
ing the condition of affairs in a certain district known as Cedar Oak. 
For two years or more the school had been run with a loose hand. 
About this time Miss Mary decided to apply for the school. As she 
came fairly well recommended, the directors hired her for nine months 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 



197 



at forty-five dollars per month. Miss Mary had taken a course in 
country school economy and felt that here was a chance to put into 
practice some of the ideas thus received. 
During several visits to the school and community she found things 




Cedar Oak School, the Scene of Miss Mary's Endeavors 



fully as bad as they had been pictured to her. The building itself 
showed decided neglect. The walls that once were white were covered 
with dirt and grime. Shelves and desks were dirty and disfigured by 
penciled pictures and knife cuts. One door was nearly kicked to pieces. 
The yard was rough and uneven. The stove-wood was scattered about 
the yard and the outbuildings faced each other. Truly there was work 
to be done. 

For several weeks she busied herself with preparations for the coming 
term. Finding no record whatever of the classification of the pupils, 
she procured the daily register, learned the names and ages of the 
children, and grouped them into classes according to their ages. Much 
of this, of course, had to be changed, but for the time it served the pur- 
pose. Besides this she prepared her material for seat work and supple- 
mentary lessons. Bulletins, pictures, and pamphlets were also arranged 
and classified. 

Three days before school began she moved into her new home. Here 



198 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

she found that others besides herself had been busy. The grass had 
been mowed, the yard cleaned, and several wagon loads of dirt hauled 
and used to level the ground in front of the building. A coal shed had 
been built somewhat to the side and rear of the schoolhouse and all of 
the wood stacked inside. A long platform extended across the front of 
the building, which greatly improved its appearance. The outbuildings 
had been moved farther apart and turned to face in opposite directions. 
Later in the year the yard was again cleaned, and ferns, bushes, and 
flowers were planted. There were twenty-four giant oak trees on this 
ground; so there was no need of placing others there. With a little 
tact and patience Miss Mary and her pupils finally made it one of the 
most beautiful lawns in the county. 

The interior of the building was by no means neglected. At the 
teacher's suggestion the walls had been papered, the woodwork painted, 
the wainscoting varnished, the floor scrubbed and windows washed. 
Then Miss Mary herself took a brush in hand and varnished every seat 
and desk as well as the organ, book cases, chairs, and map cases. 

After these matters of cleanliness and repair had been attended to, 
those of lighting and ventilation were taken up. The seats which had 
previously faced three uncurtained south windows were arranged in 
rows, according to size, and turned to face the north. Then she ordered 
six dark paper window shades, which she placed twelve inches below 
the top of the frame, thereby forming a narrow transom above each 
shade. 

As winter approached the heating system required attention. When 
Miss Mary rearranged the seats, she forgot to leave a place for 
the stove; consequently another arrangement had to be made. Some 
one had read that the Waterbury jacketed stove was a very good thing 
for a one-room country school ; so the directors began to inquire about 
it. By Thanksgiving day the new furnace was in its place in the north- 
west corner of the room. The new system provided a constant supply 
of fresh air as well as a means of removing the foul air and was much 
superior to the old way. 

After satisfactorily disposing of these questions of physical comfort 
and convenience, the decoration of the room was next in order. Miss 
Mary placed a few well-chosen but inexpensive Perry pictures upon 
the walls, dainty white curtains at the windows, rugs of Napier matting 
upon the floor, and transoms, or "stained-glass windows," of card 
board and colored tissue paper over doors and windows. During the 
year several articles were added to the school equipment, among which 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 199 

were kindergarten chairs, a sand-table, a window seat, window shades, 
a stove, some matting, and sixty square feet of slated blackboard cloth. 
So much for the problem of physical environment. 

Now Miss Mary also believed that the teacher should be a promi- 
nent factor in the social life of the community and that the school 
should be a center of community interests. Therefore her plans for 
community building included parents' and pupils' organizations, enter- 
tainments, and social gatherings. For these reasons she organized a 
mothers' club and instituted regular directors' meetings. Both had for 
their purposes the mutual benefit and encouragement of teacher and 
patrons. The mothers' club met one afternoon of each month and 
discussed educational topics, articles from school magazines, sometimes 
introducing material relating to the home or home-making, and again 
discussing the care of poultry or gardens. 

Once a month the directors held their regular meeting in the school 
house, examined the records, condition of building and furnishings, 
and wrote the necessary school money order. Several times Miss Mary 
succeeded in getting them to spend half a day in the schoolroom while 
the classes were in session. In this way she secured their heartiest 
good will and cooperation. 

Afternoon and evening entertainments formed another phase of Miss 
Mary's country community building. The first social event of the term 
was the patrons' picnic, given at the beginning of the school year, for 
the purpose of becoming acquainted with the parents and establishing 
friendly relations between the home and school. This affair was well 
attended and proved successful. A basket dinner was served, and two 
addresses were delivered. The first speaker was a United Presbyterian 
minister and the second was the county superintendent. 

Another affair of importance was the country school exhibit held in 
November. Miss Mary invited the cooperation of two other teachers 
in preparing this exhibition. A speaker* from the Western Illinois State 
Normal School was engaged to address the audience. 

After this came the Christmas and spring entertainments and follow- 
ing them one of the most important occasions of the entire term, the 
field day contests between Miss Mary's and an adjoining district school. 
The program indoors consisted of contests in singing, speaking, reading, 
and story-telling, while the field sports were contests in running, jump- 
ing, pole vaulting, discus throwing, and bicycle riding. There were 
other social events during the term which, though of minor importance, 
had each a place in Miss Mary's plan for community building. 



200 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Something must now be said in regard to the educational progress 
during Miss Mary's brief stay. On one occasion a number of the older 
students with their teacher drove a distance of six miles to attend an 
evening session of the farmers' institute in a nearby town. Another 
time they visited the county superintendent's office and examined speci- 
mens of school work from the various schools of the county. A third 
excursion was that to the Western Illinois State Normal School. 
School was closed for a day while Miss Mary and seven of her pupils 
visited the normal school. To the children this educational excursion 
meant a revelation of wonders. The great school, with its splendid 
equipment and beautiful classrooms, will not soon fade from their 
memory. 

Miss Mary introduced manual training into her school, and her class 
of boys, working once or twice a week from 12 130 until 1 o'clock, made 
many useful articles, such as a sand-table, a window seat, and weaving 
looms. The girls' sewing class also met once a week, and they too fin- 
ished some very neat and attractive pieces of work. Miss Mary per- 
suaded the directors to expend a small sum of money for library books. 
Fifteen dollars was thus obtained and spent for the pupils' reading 
circle books and the World Today magazine. By disposing of a set of 
Mary J. Holmes' novels she was enabled to purchase a set of supple- 
mentary readers also. Besides all this, Miss Mary found time to slip 
in a few drawing and painting lessons. Music was not neglected, and 
many happy hours were spent in song. 

When Miss Mary, at the beginning of her term, stood before her 
school of noisy, giggling, mischievous children, she knew that a mighty 
undertaking lay before her. Many times she felt her courage ebbing 
away. But she had caught a spirit of enthusiasm for her work, and at 
such times this force sustained and comforted her. 

The Regeneration of District 23 

I shall never forget how the schoolhouse looked the day I began my 
duties as teacher in District 23. It was clean but very bare. The cen- 
ter of the room was occupied by the stove. An old organ covered with 
dust and somewhat "wheezy" stood in one corner. Nothing about the 
room suggested cheer but some old sash curtains at the windows. 

It took all of the fall term to get the school organized and properly 
graded. The middle of the winter term I had a box social. With the 
proceeds I bought some pictures. These were suitable for all grades. I 
also gave the seats, organ, and my desk and chair a coat of jap-a-lac. 

In the spring I had a Mother's Day. There were mothers present 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 



201 



who had never been in the school while it was in session. Later the 
children and I made a garden and it was necessary to have a fence to 
keep our neighbors' chickens and sheep out. The fence we made our- 
selves of sticks, wire and brush. It was a standing joke in the neigh- 
borhood. Nevertheless it answered its purpose. School closed with a 
picnic, one hundred and nine being present. 



*MmjI»'- X. ''Win TriB" 


Jit 




111 


^H mm 




■ -- m 





Closing Day Picnic in District 23 



After school was closed I went to Normal to attend the first summer 
term. Here I took the special courses offered for country teachers 
and returned home rilled with plans and inspirations for the coming 
school year. 

About the middle of August, before school began, we had an ice 
cream social at the home of one of the patrons. The evening was spent 
in playing games, singing, and instrumental music. The sum cleared 
was over eight dollars. With this I bought new sash curtains, brass 
rods, new dark green window shades, mosquito netting for the win- 
dows, some toweling, a looking glass, comb case and combs, washbasin, 
soap and soap dish. The curtains and towels were hemmed by the girls. 

Everything was ready for the first day. The schoolroom had been 
thoroughly cleaned and the stove had been blacked; so when our new 
green shades and sash curtains were hung at the windows, the pictures 
put up, and mosquito netting tacked on the windows, the schoolroom 



202 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

looked cozy and cheerful. We held our first mothers' meeting of this 
year on the third Friday in September. Seven of the district were 
present. They watched the classes the fore part of the afternoon, and 
after recess school matters and the home 'training of the children were 
discussed. Then refreshments, consisting of tea and cake, were served. 

We next held a dime social at the home of the president of the board. 
The school gave a program, and simple refreshments were served. 
These were furnished by the district; so the money taken in was clear, 
amounting to ten dollars. This was handed over to the board as a little 
financial help for the future, and as an excuse to watchful tax payers 
for increased generosity upon the part of the board. 

Our next event was a Corn Day, held October 14. Two directors, the 
elevator man, and nine mothers were present. We gave a corn pro- 
gram and corn exhibit. The schoolroom was decorated by the children. 
It was the first celebration of its kind held in the district. Did the 
people enjoy it? Indeed they did. It was something that interested 
the entire community. Corn is the staple product of this community as 
of most others in Illinois, and one way to get the parents to cooperate 
with the school is through this great connecting link. 

We then had two weeks' vacation. During this time improvements 
were commenced on the schoolhouse. The foundation was raised, a 
new porch was built, the cistern was cleaned and re-covered, and the 
roof shingled. At the end of two weeks I entered my school and found 
it just as the carpenters had left it. It was expected that I should 
clean the schoolroom. But, for the education of the district and for 
the welfare of future country teachers, this I refused to do; so school 
was closed until it was done. The children and I cleaned the yard, 
and with the new pipe fence in front it presented a neat, home-like 
appearance. 

The next problem that confronted us was the stove. It didn't take 
long for the directors to decide what was needed in this line, and in 
November a Smith Heating Plant was installed. Three of the larger 
boys and myself stayed while the stove was put up and arranged the 
seats according to the size of the children. 

We continued our mothers' meetings, and two of the directors actu- 
ally visited the school and seemed to be interested in the work and 
anxious for the school to progress. 

In December we had another box supper, and gave the Family 
Album, getting every one in the district to take part. We cleared fif- 
teen dollars. This money aided in getting me a new desk and chair. 



LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNTRY TEACHER 203 

We needed a walk from the porch to the gate. Boards did not 
answer the purpose, so the boys and I made a brick walk, which proved 
more substantial and helped to keep the porch and room clean. 

Our school work for the year was completed, and we planned a 
picnic. But the weather interfered and it was not as successful as 
that of the year before. 

Throughout the district the people are interested in the school. They 
are anxious for continued progress ; so I have made a few plans for 
next year. These are : To make the course of study conform more 
closely to the needs of the children; to organize boys' and girls' clubs 
to hold the interest of the young people, and especially to furnish whole- 
some recreation; and to have a Country Life Club, including everybody 
in the community. Through this I hope to awaken a greater local 
interest in country life and to advance the social, educational, and 
spiritual welfare of every individual in the district. 

Country Life Creed. In concluding this chapter whose 
basic theme may be much questioned, I shall risk repetition 
for the sake of understanding and offer the following sum- 
mary of my personal faith concerning the function of the 
country teacher in the present rural situation: 

/ believe that the great underlying problem of country life 
is the problem of keeping a standard people upon our farms. 

To solve this problem I believe it is necessary to make 
country life fully satisfying. 

This satisfaction, I believe farmers will bring to themselves 
through learning to cooperate in the upbuilding of a complete 
community life. 

Great agencies are already established and more or less ade- 
quately functioning as instruments of cooperation and com- 
munity building. Chief among these are the home, the coun- 
try church, the farmers' organization, and the country school. 

Of these I believe the school to be temporarily first in lead- 
ership and influence because cooperation is a question of edu- 
cation, and education is the special responsibility of the school. 

I believe that in communities where homes are defective, 
churches closed, and farmers' organizations wanting, the 



204 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



school may become the agency of progress toward all im- 
provement, even teaching the service of other institutions and 
leading to their establishment and regeneration. 

I believe that the school can do yet more; that it can also 
teach the necessity of its own redirection and upbuilding. 

But back of this program of action stands the country 
teacher. For her I believe in a type of training that shall sup- 
ply the information, the special adaptability, and, above all, the 
vision, to make this end attainable. 

In her and in her ability to justify the responsibility thus 
placed upon her, I also believe. 

Therefore, my conclusion of beliefs in the leadership of the 
country teacher and in the teacher's office as a chief immediate 
factor in the solution of the farm problem. 



CHAPTER X 

THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM AND 
ITS ATTACK 

The Problem Stated. In the preceding chapter, the re- 
sponsibility of the country teacher's position has been empha- 
sized. The present chapter will attempt to show country 
teachers how to attack their problem. The efforts here de- 
scribed have all been tried with success, most of them in a 
single country school. 

That there is a problem, and a very serious one, confronting 
every country teacher would seem evident. Yet, many coun- 
try teachers do not realize the unity and magnitude of this 
problem and therefore fail to make any organized attack 
upon the difficulties of their situation. To run a few strag- 
gling children through the dry mechanics of a daily program 
seems to some the total fulfillment of duty. From such there 
is little to hope. But from the larger class of earnest workers 
who would bring the joys of life to the minds and hearts of 
neglected country children, there is everything to hope. These 
fully realize their problem but can find no solution that fully 
solves, no path that leads clear through the tangle of dis- 
couraging difficulties with which their work is beset. To 
teachers of this class the problem of the country teacher is 
very real. Though differently stated by each individual, in 
the end it would all mean the same thing — the task of making 
the school the strongest possible influence in enriching the 
lives of those for whom it is maintained. In this connection 
it should be remembered that the school, though designed 

205 



206 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

primarily for the education of the young, is responsible for the 
whole community and may become, as formerly pointed out, 
a chief immediate factor working toward rural betterment. 

The problem of the country teacher, therefore, is the prob- 
lem of accepting conditions as they now exist, physically, edu- 
cationally, and socially, and of converting the country school 
from decay and inactivity into a living, vital force for rural 
progress. In other words, it is the problem of making the 
country school a center for redirected education and com- 
munity building. 

The Method of Its Attack. Since this must necessarily 
be a rather long treatment, not only illustrating a course of 
action but including much detailed information, it may be well 
to outline briefly the four large points of attack to be de- 
veloped. The country teacher's problem as it now exists may 
be most directly controlled : 

1. Through spiritualizing and improving the physical en- 
vironment of the school. 

2. Through socializing the school and making it an insti- 
tution of community service. 

3. Through vitalizing and enriching the course of study. 

4. Through improving the administration of the school 
and teaching the necessity of a change of system, or consoli- 
dation. 

No one of these phases can be individually considered and 
worked out to the exclusion of the others. All must be con- 
stantly kept in mind and simultaneously furthered. 

I. Improving the Physical Environment of the Country 

School 

The Building: Defects of Country School Buildings. 

There are many defects in the ordinary, one-room school 
building. Most such buildings, or at least their styles of 
architecture, have come down to us from a day when school- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 207 

rooms were made for passive listening and not for active 
work. In the first place, the average country school build- 
ing is far too small. The activities that must now take place 
within a schoolroom require reasonable space. A country 
schoolroom, especially where there is no second room pro- 
vided, needs to be large, covering at least seven hundred 
square feet of floor space. It is not unusual, moreover, to 




An Old Type of Country School Building 
There are many defects in the ordinary one-room school building 

find school buildings with no hall or cloak room of any 
description. Such buildings confess at once that they were 
planned by a set of indifferent or penurious directors, who 
cared more for a few cents in the hand than the convenience 
and need of future generations. 

For the sake of country teachers and children who may 
still have to live for years in one-room schools, I wish to 
emphasize the necessity of a second room. A school of only 
one room should never be built. There is more need of an 



2o8 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

additional room, even a small one, than any one except a 
teacher can quite realize. A room of this description tends 
to revolutionize teaching and may answer a score of pur- 
poses. It is convenient, not only as a workshop, storeroom, 
classroom, laboratory, lunch and playroom, and primary- 
room, but as a place where individual children, or small 
groups of children may withdraw and work on oral reading, 
science lessons, and other work requiring space and freedom. 
The practical possibilities of an additional room far out- 
weigh the small expense incurred in its construction. If so 
desired, the basement may be enlarged, and a workroom, 
preferably about twenty feet square, can be obtained at very 
little expense. A basement room, however, is not quite so 
satisfactory as one above, owing to the danger of poor drain- 
age, dust, and dampness. A workroom upstairs, fully ex- 
posed to fresh air and sunshine, with a basement large enough 
to contain the furnace, fuel, water-tank, janitor supplies, school 
stores, and possibly the toilets and a playroom, will be found 
much better and more sanitary. 

A fourth defect of the old-fashioned country school is the 
arrangement of windows on both sides of the room. This 
allows light to enter from opposite directions, and results in 
cross-lighting. More will be said later of the management 
of light in such rooms. 

Most serious of all defects, however, is the matter of ven- 
tilation. This subject, so vitally affecting the health of all 
concerned, cannot be too strongly emphasized. No provision 
whatever is made for the removal of foul air in thousands 
of country schoolrooms today. To those who have studied 
this question its neglect seems nothing short of criminal. 

The interior finish of the average rural school is also 
largely a matter of accident and usually reveals the fact most 
candidly. For the conditions that prevail in thousands of 
buildings, there is positively no excuse, not even that of econ- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



209 



omy, since attractive paper and paint cost no more than the 
ludicrous and dingy combinations often displayed. The same 
indifference regarding the laws of harmony and good taste 
manifested within the schoolroom is usually reflected by the 
exterior appearance of the building. A little, barn-like struc- 
ture, with a snub-nosed, lean-to attachment, may have been 
considered artistic once, but it certainly does not fulfill mod- 
ern requirements of architectural fitness. 

While many school officers execute their duties faithfully 
and deserve strong words of commendation for their sincere 
efforts and gratuitous service, there are others, who, through 
indifference or ignorance, still persist in perpetuating incon- 
venient and inartistic schoolhouses upon the children of the 
present and future. For the poor planning of a new school- 
house there is now no excuse. Directors needing assistance 
on these matters should consult the teacher and county superin- 
tendent who, through their experience, should be able to give 
many valuable suggestions concerning the needs and purposes 
of a school building, and who can at least furnish sources 
from which information on school architecture may be ob- 
tained. Nearly every state now makes special effort to spread 
this information, and a letter to the state superintendent's 
office or to the nearest normal school will usually bring the 
desired assistance. Assistant Superintendent U. J. Hoffman 
of Illinois has prepared a pamphlet entitled The One-Room 
and Village Schools in Illinois which may be had for the ask- 
ing and which contains several good plans with specifications 
and costs. The Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville 
has built a model rural school building and publishes a circu- 
lar describing it. Cornell College of Agriculture has built an 
excellent model upon its campus, of which it will furnish de- 
scriptive literature upon request. Plans and explanations of a 
school building conforming to the ideas here set forth are 
given in the appendix of this book. (Section 3.) 



2io COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The following information on various phases of school- 
room architecture covers only the most essential principles, but 
is given here with the conviction that its dissemination prop- 
erly belongs to the country teacher's problem. Her explana- 
tion of these facts is often, the only means of enforcing their 
significance, and she thus again becomes the medium of en- 
lightenment and progress. 

Heating and Ventilation. The necessity of pure air is 
still a subject but little understood, even in the country where 
fresh air and sunshine abound. The dangerous effects of the 
use of vitiated air cannot be too strongly impressed upon chil- 
dren, teachers, or parents. Children compelled to live in a 
vitiated atmosphere become not only irritable and nervous, 
or inactive, but are made susceptible to colds and disease and 
ultimately suffer from a general lowering of bodily strength 
and vigor. Mentally, poor ventilation defeats the whole pur- 
pose of the school, as it has been scientifically demonstrated 
that children inhaling impure air cannot be intellectually 
active. 

Notwithstanding all this, the most extreme and intolerable 
conditions prevail during the cold weather in many country 
schoolrooms. The ordinary stove, making no provision what- 
ever for the circulation and purification of air, is heated red 
hot, the children are allowed to gather close around it, win- 
dows and doors are tightly barricaded, and in a short time 
the air, used over and over again by the unsuspecting in- 
mates, becomes so vitiated that it can be actually felt, smelled, 
and tasted by one entering the room from outside. Although 
the problem of ventilation in a schoolroom wholly unprovided 
with any mechanical means for the exchange of air is undoubt- 
edly difficult and baffling, it is nevertheless true that the worst 
cases of neglect are due to the ignorance and indifference of 
teachers. When things have gone so far that the children 
become languid and sleepy, it is time for action. Open the 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



211 



windows to their very limit. Let the children march, run, play 
leap-frog, or do almost anything requiring bodily exertion, 
while the room is thoroughly flushed with pure air. Repeat 
this performance at least once during every session. 

Here are a few facts concerning ventilation that every 
teacher should know and religiously impress upon the chil- 
dren, parents, and directors of her community. Only in this 
way will the subject receive adequate attention. 




A New Type of Country School Building 

This beautiful building stands on the campus of Cornell College of Agriculture. 
Cost about $2,000. Its special feature is a workroom. Send to the College 
at Ithaca, New York, for descriptive circular 



1. Each child should have 30 cubic feet of pure air per 
minute, or about 2,000 cubic feet per hour. This means that 
an average schoolroom whose dimensions are, say 20x30x12 
feet, will properly supply twenty children for. only twelve 
minutes ; and that the air in such a room should be completely 
changed at least five times in a single hour. 

2. An ordinary open stove heats only the immediate sec- 



212 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

tion of the room and makes no provision whatever for the 
exchange and distribution of air. 

3. A good ventilating system is one that answers the fol- 
lowing requirements: (a) removes foul air and introduces 
pure; (b) distributes the fresh air equally well to all parts of 
the room; (c) maintains an equality of temperature; (d) 
supplies necessary moisture; and (e) avoids drafts. 

4. A system of efficient ventilation can be, and should be, 
provided for every country school. 

In view of what has been said, the following means are 
recommended for the ventilation of country schools : 

1. In the first place, the teacher can flush the room with 
pure air and then resort to the well known device of insert- 
ing a board under the lower window sash. In a room known 
to be defective in this respect, one window at least, on the 
leeward side of the building, should always be kept open while 
the children are in the room. When lowered from the top, it 
will usually injure no one. This method, of course, is but an 
inadequate makeshift. 

2. The stove may be jacketed. This, if properly done, will 
insure correct conditions. A sheet iron screen standing around 
the stove, however, is not a jacket and should not be mis- 
taken for one. The screen is absolutely useless so far as 
ventilation is concerned, and serves only as a protection from 
the more intense rays of heat. A true jacket is an air- 
tight covering, enclosing the stove, extending clear to the 
floor and open only at the top. It draws pure air from 
outside through a duct, opening into a hole in the floor under 
the stove. Fresh cold air thus passes in around the stove, is 
heated, and rises to the ceiling, eventually working its way 
down to the ' children. The opening of doors and windows, 
or a register in the side wall near the floor, is often depended 
upon to remove impure air, but fails to do so, owing to the 
greater pressure of the colder air on the outside. The 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



213 



impure air cannot be drawn out unless a draft is created, 
and this requires heat. The following plan, recommended 
by Mr. U. J. Hoffman of the Illinois Department of Educa- 
tion, is an excellent method of jacketing a stove. 

At the corner of the house cut a hole in the foundation wall and 
another through the floor where the stove is to stand. Connect these 
openings with a galvanized iron pipe, and surround the stove with a 
galvanized iron jacket about eight inches from the sides of the stove. 
The jacket should reach, and be fastened to the floor, and be extended 
to a height of five feet There should be a door in the jacket through 
which fuel may be placed in the stove and through which the ash box 
can be removed. There should be another door at the bottom of the 
jacket. It should not be on hinges, but should be so attached that it 
may be raised or lowered. It should be twelve inches wide and eighteen 
inches high. The hole in the floor should be 12 by 16 inches, and pro- 
vided with the ordinary hot air register, thus making it possible to 
regulate the amount of air admitted or to shut it off altogether. When 
the room is to be heated quickly the register should shut out the outside 
air. By opening the sliding door in the jacket the air within the room 
is admitted to the furnace. When the room is sufficiently warm and 
the children are present the register should be opened and the sliding 
door closed. 

In order that fresh air may flow into the room through the furnace 
it will be necessary to provide that an equal amount of foul air escape 
from the room. This can be done by attaching a ten-inch galvanized 
pipe to the jacket and extending it from within six inches of the floor 
upward through the roof. This will take air off the floor outside the 
furnace. It should be provided with a damper so that it may be closed 
when on very windy days the air might come down this pipe. The 
expense should not exceed $20.00. This home-made room furnace can 
be depended upon to heat and ventilate the room as effectually as a 
high-priced patented one. Any tinner can make it. 

3. The recent awakening to the seriousness of this ques- 
tion of ventilation has resulted in the manufacture of several 
good mechanical ventilating systems. Among the best known 
of these are the Smith System of Heating and Ventilation, 
put out by the Manuel-Smith Heating Company, of Minneapo- 
lis, and the Waterman-Waterbury System, also of Minneapo- 



214 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



lis. 1 Those heaters operate upon the same principle as the 
properly jacketed stove, except that they are capable of dis- 
charging both smoke and foul air from a single chimney 
through the use of a patented device, called a mixer. Either 
make can be purchased and placed on the floor by a com- 
petent agent for from ninety to one hundred twenty-five 
dollars — a small sum, indeed, compared with the benefit 
derived. 

4. A furnace, however, provides by far the most satis- 
factory system of heating and ventilating, being not only much 
cleaner and more sightly but saving valuable floor space. 
Small furnaces are now on the market at reasonable cost, 
and nothing else should ever be installed in a new building. 
But with furnaces as with other systems of heating, proper 
attention must be given to ventilation. A double chimney is 
a necessity. If desired a screened fireplace may be built in the 
ventilating, flue, serving" not only as an air register but upon 
occasions as a genial companion, and during early fall and 
late spring as a fuel saver. 

With every heating plant care should be exercised to see 
that moisture is assured. Furnaces and manufactured sys- 
tems usually have water-pans. If overlooked these should 
be demanded at the time of installation, and the teacher 
should then see that they are kept filled. When stoves are 
used, a small tea-kettle or an open pan may be provided as 
a substitute. Dry air is extremely disagreeable and injuri- 
ous to the health of the children. 

Lighting. The eyes are as delicate as the lungs and 
require as much care. Every teacher should have a letter 
chart, which may be procured free from almost any physi- 

1 All recommendations of manufactured articles made in this chapter 
and elsewhere throughout tin's book are expressions of independent per- 
sonal opinion and investigation, based wholly upon fitness and adapta- 
tion to country school needs. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 2I ^ 

cian or oculist, and should make simple tests upon the chil- 
dren for nearsightedness, farsightedness, and other common 
ailments, especially with those children who complain of head- 
aches and show signs of trouble. When weaknesses are dis- 
covered, the teacher should make every possible effort to 
impress upon parents the necessity of wearing glasses or of 
making other proper medical provision for relief. Nothing 
is more dangerous than delay in such cases. Troubles that 
might be remedied if given early attention are often neglected 
until past all permanent cure. 

lief ore considering the lighting of country schools, it is 
well to know the following general principles: 

i. The light should come largely from above and be dif- 
fused evenly from the ceiling, throughout the room. 

2. No part of the room should be insufficiently lighted. 

3. There should be no glare of light reflected from below, 
as from window sills, desks, or floors. 

4. There should be no cross-lights. 

5. Light should be admitted only from the left side, though 
small windows in the back are not especially harmful. 

6. The window space should equal at least one-sixth of the 
floor space. Some authorities say one-fourth. 

As is well known, the chief misery of country schools in 
this respect is the defect of cross-lighting, resulting from 
the old-fashioned notion of placing windows on both sides 
of the building. This condition is one of the most serious 
defects of old-time construction and should be speedily rem- 
edied in every building where it exists, by putting all the 
windows on the left side. In the meantime, it may be some- 
what controlled by the use of heavy blinds that can be ad- 
justed so as to shield the lower half of the window, while 
exposing the upper half. Such an arrangement is now made 
easy and practicable by the manufacture of a pulley device 
known as the Johnson Window Shade Adjuster. These ad- 



216 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

justers are listed with price and place of manufacture among 
other country school equipment in the appendix of this book. 
(Section 4.) 

The old-time shutter is not, as some suppose, an adequate 
blind for the protection of the eyes. It is not only clumsy 
and certain to screen the whole window when only a partial 
shadow is desired, but admits the light in bars and streaks, 
giving a checker-board effect most harmful to the eye. The 
Venetian blind, a shade made of wooden slats running hori- 
zontally on strong tape, is regarded by some as desirable, 
but is very likely to prove an admirable dust-trap, and, like 
the shutter, has the same objectionable feature of admitting 
light in bars of sunshine and shadow. The color of the 
walls has much to do with the problem of lighting, and this 
should be borne in mind when selecting paper or tinting. 
The common practice of choosing dark paper because it will 
better hide dust or smoke is atrocious. The walls should 
always be comparatively light, and the ceiling very light. 

Evening light is an important point of schoolroom effi- 
ciency in the country where the building should frequently 
be used for community gatherings. Gasoline fixtures are 
often recommended for this purpose, but their expense and 
danger argue against them somewhat. Alcohol lamps and 
good oil lamps are now manufactured which are thoroughly 
safe and give a light almost equal to that of gasoline. Some 
of these are recommended in the appendix. (Section 4.) 

Interior Finish and Decoration. A whole school is often 
reformed in matters of conduct by a few rolls of paper and 
a little paint. Any child finds it easier to be clean of body 
and of mind in a clean, attractive room than in one where 
half the plaster is gone and the paper hangs in festoons of 
dusty cobwebs. All this is now so generally accepted as 
truth that it is hard to account for existing conditions. The 
general neglect and unpleasing, often ludicrous, combina- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



217 



tions of color displayed in many country schools, however, are 
too familiar to need comment. 

A general color scheme should be planned and carried 
out in decorating the walls of any room. It is first necessary 
to decide whether the scheme shall be warm or cool. The 




Library Room, Peru School, Macon County, Illinois 

An ordinary country school entrance converted into a reading-room 



warm colors include the shades and tints of red, brown, and 
yellow, while the cool colors include the shades and tints of 
blue, gray, and green. Since country schools are in session 
chiefly during inclement weather, a warm scheme is perhaps 
best for them. Plain, patternless paper, or wall tint, should 
be selected, as it makes a more restful surface for the eyes. 



2i8 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

A shade not too dark should be used for the walls, and 
very light tints, usually cream, for the ceiling. The wood- 
work, if old, may be painted a darker shade of the same 
color. Green paper is less satisfactory than brown because 
more likely to fade and to contain chemical coloring mat- 
ter injurious to the lungs. In case the building is ceiled, 
the walls and ceiling may be painted in three shades of the 
same color, but the color chosen must be light and cheerful 
New buildings, however, should never be papered, but tinted. 
What decorators call water-color is the most economical and 
best finish and the most easily applied. It can be used suc- 
cessfully over rough plaster. Woodwork in a new building 
should be finished in the natural wood. 

When a room is once well finished, the whole effect must 
not be ruined by careless and untidy wall decorations or by 
over-decorating. Frames for schoolroom pictures should be 
simple and plain and should correspond with the general ef- 
fect of 'the pictures. Pictures should be hung neither in a 
dark corner nor in a glare of light, nor so high that the 
children get no benefit of them. A list of good pictures 
relating especially to country life is given in the appendix of 
this book. (Section 8.) The work of the children also de- 
serves a display on the walls, but it should not be carelessly 
stuck around anywhere, to collect dust and flutter to the floor 
upon the least provocation from the wind. The most satisfac- 
tory and convenient plan for displaying such material is to 
cover a section of the wall space with cork carpet, burlap, or 
denim, and firmly tack each piece of work upon this surface. 
Thin pine board or building paper may be first nailed under 
the burlap or denim to make a body for holding the tacks. 
Movable bulletin boards may be constructed on separate 
frames in the same way. 

But a room may be well decorated and still prove unpleas- 
jng in effect unless the little touches that add so much to 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 219 

its homelike influence are carefully given. Simple glass vases 
are cheap, and a cluster of well arranged flowers will often 
brighten a whole day. The children should be shown how 
to pick flowers, and the teacher can easily illustrate the 
difference in effect between a motley, short-stemmed, breath- 
less bunch, and a free, artistic spray arranged with some 
thought of harmony in color and proportion. Such things 
may seem trivial, perhaps, to one who has not observed their 
effect upon children, but details make up the whole in school- 
room decoration as truly as elsewhere. At any rate, it is 
evident that a fresh green fern, a vase of poppies, or a bowl 
of violets, must be somewhat more spiritualizing than the 
battered dinner pails and basins of dirty water that some- 
times adorn the interior of country schoolrooms. 

Seating. The old-fashioned double desk with its "jack- 
knife carved initial" and fond memory of seatmates may 
be romantic, but it is certainly very unsanitary and inconve- 
nient. Through its use there is an utter neglect of adjust- 
ment in the seating of children. How serious this neglect 
may become is shown by the numerous cases of round shoul- 
ders and poor physiques found even among country boys 
and girls. Nowhere in fact is the question of bodily com- 
fort so much disregarded as in country school seating. Large 
overgrown boys are frequently cramped into seats about half 
large enough for them, while tender six-year-olds are sub- 
merged in a pile of old lumber over which they can barely 
peer out at the big world. Frequently, too, the seats are 
arranged supposedly to grade from rear to front, but really 
to descend by jogs and jumps most uncomfortable to those 
who sit on the connecting lines. 
The chief defects of common school seats are: 
1. Improper adjustment in height, causing children to 
swing their feet in space. This often causes injury to the 
spinal column. 



220 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

2. A slant in exactly the wrong direction along the back, 
allowing no freedom of movement for the hips, or pelvic 
girdle, when writing. 

3. Improper adjustment to the arms, the desks being 
usually either too high or too low. 

4. A lack of any provision for holding books closer to 
the eyes while reading. 

Although no seats now on the market correct all the 
deficiencies here pointed out, the best for general use are 
the single adjustable desks and chairs which can be fitted to 
individual children. A few turns of the wrench, and every 
child can be placed in a seat fitted to him with his feet firmly 
touching the floor. Such an investment may cost more in 
the beginning but will be found to yield paying returns in 
straight backs, square shoulders, and general bodily comfort 
and health. For the purchasing address and cost of these 
seats see the appendix of this book. (Section 4.) When good 
seats have been procured, they must be properly placed on the 
floor. The proper method is not to put the large seats in the 
rear and the small ones in front, but to arrange the various 
sizes in different rows and to lap each seat not more than three 
nor less than two inches under its desk. 

For the little children, a low primary table and a dozen small 
chairs solve the seating problem most excellently. Such a 
table can be made by the older boys or purchased from any 
school supply house, and the chairs can be obtained from the 
same source for about sixty cents each. The great convenience 
of these chairs can scarcely be overestimated. They are use- 
ful not only around the table for the younger children but 
as recitation seats for the whole school, thus making way with 
the awkward long benches over which everyone is inclined 
to stumble. Their light weight makes them easily movable, 
and their size and color greatly endear them to the hearts of 
six-year-olds. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 2 2I 

Sanitation and Care. Cleanliness is said to be next to 
godliness, and in the schoolroom it is certainly next ahead. 
There are two difficult phases of the problem of school sani- 
tation. One of these, ventilation, has been considered at some 
length ; the other, the control of dust, is also quite a task in a 
room filled with active children. However, it can and should 
be solved. 

Dust, even chalk dust, need not be tolerated. The school- 
room, where children from different families are brought so 
closely and constantly together, should be the cleanest of all 
places. Yet people who regularly scrub their own floors once 
or twice a week think nothing of allowing children to sit day 
after day in a room that has not felt a drop of purifying 
water for months. It is, indeed, the actual truth that hun- 
dreds of schools are scrubbed only once or twice a year! 
Such practices are wholly inexcusable. 

The care of a room, as of most things, needs only to be 
managed through a little systematic planning and attention. 
The first step for a teacher to take upon entering a dirty and 
repulsive building is to have a plain, face-to-face talk with the 
directors concerning the necessity of clean paper and a little 
paint. Whether she gains her point or not, the building must 
be thoroughly cleaned, whoever does it. When once well 
cleaned, the work of keeping it respectable is not severe, if 
regularly and constantly attended to. Where the teacher must 
do her own janitor work, it will pay her to employ one of 
the strongest and most reliable of the older girls to assist. 
A country boy is usually a misfit when put at housework, 
and no boy will give the little touches necessary to order and 
cleanliness. Brooms, mops, pails, cloths, soap, and cleaning 
materials must be well provided, and in a businesslike manner, 
just as in a home. When well kept up, the work, though 
hard, will absorb the interest and prove attractive. 

One of the chief sources of dust in a schoolroom is the 



222 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

blackboard. But with proper care its annoyance may De 
greatly reduced. Boards in country schools are often poor 
things at best, and a coat of chalk dust adds nothing to their 
efficiency. They should be washed every day and the trays 
well cleaned. This will be found a light task if regularly 
done, and will simplify the care of the whole room. The 
erasers should be cleaned whenever dust-filled, at least two 
or three times a day. The task is only a minute's exercise 
for some of the small boys, who are always glad to help. 
Children should be taught the danger to the lungs of float- 
ing dust particles and should not be allowed to dust an eraser 
inside the room, or to bring in mud, or in any way add to the 
dust supply. Dustless crayon is best to use, as it not only 
makes less dust, but writes better. Paper boards, which are a 
very good substitute for slate, dustless crayon, and noiseless 
erasers made entirely of felt, can now be obtained from any 
reliable school supply house. The addresses of a few of these 
houses and of some manufacturing companies producing these 
articles may all be found in the list of country school equip- 
ment recommended in the appendix. 

The old, rough floor with its great cracks, presents another 
matter for consideration. Perhaps the best covering for a 
schoolroom floor would be cork carpet or linoleum, but both 
are too expensive to be practical. A few square feet of bright 
colored linoleum for the hall floor will not cost much, how- 
ever, and will add greatly to the attractiveness of the entrance. 
For the old floor, nothing better can be recommended than 
the application of a couple of coats of good floor paint. The 
cracks should first be filled with crack-filler and putty, so that 
they will no longer serve as dust catchers. A well painted floor 
can be mopped in a few minutes and should be so treated at 
least once in two weeks. A rug across the front of the room 
will be found nerve-soothing and may be both sanitary and 
attractive. Children should be emphatically taught to clean 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 223 

their shoes and remove their overshoes before entering the 
building. Such a lesson will add possibly more to the comfort 
of humanity than some things in arithmetic and grammar. 
When tactfully managed, the children are glad to cooperate 
with the teacher in securing and keeping a school beautiful. 

Another source of infection aside from dust and bad air 
is the public drinking cup. Drinking water should not be 
kept in the building if there is a well on the grounds, as there 
always should be. When water must be kept inside, a special 
tank with a faucet and a tightly fitted cover should be pro- 
vided. Individual drinking cups are necessary and can be 
easily and cheaply supplied. All cups should be scoured fre- 
quently and aired in the sunshine. Children should be allowed 
and encouraged to drink quantities of water, but care must be 
taken to have it pure and clean. This means that the well must 
be carefully cleaned and watched. The contents of many 
wells would shock the whole community if brought to view. 
The drainage of the well is a matter of vital importance. 
Dirty water constantly dripping back into the drinking supply 
is repulsive, to say the least. A tile drain can be easily laid 
and is the best provision for this purpose. The directors or 
large boys can put in such a drain with but little expense. 

The Improvement of the Grounds. Just why trees, 
flowers, and shrubs will not grow on school grounds is truly 
something of an agricultural mystery. When land that raises 
eighty bushels of corn to the acre on one side of the fence 
refuses to nourish a bed of tulips or a few shrubs on the 
other side, we must, of force, conclude that something else, 
or the lack of something else, enters into the balance against 
the school yard. How rarely, in even the richest of our agri- 
cultural states, are country school grounds made an influence 
of beauty for the children and people of the surrounding 
community. But before much is done by way of improvement, 
we must succeed in establishing a new ideal among country 



224 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 




Cultivating Minds and Spirits 
Through Flower Gardens 



teachers. This ideal is nothing more nor less than the belief 
that the school should be, in all 'things, a power for beauty 
and good; and that it should, in the matter of outdoor art, 

be so maintained as to set 
an example of local pos- 
sibilities to every home. 
True, there is certainly 
enough for one teacher to 
do in a country school 
without seeking to become 
a landscape gardener. But 
this is by no means the 
end desired. True, too, 
the first duty of the school 
is cultivating minds, not 
flower gardens. But the 
sensible teacher will not 
lose her perspective and shift her attention from the children 
to the plants. The sensible teacher will cultivate not flower 
gardens, but minds and spirits through Howler gardens. 

Beginning Yard Improvement. The first act on the part 
of an untrained teacher ambitious to do something for yard 
improvement should be to make a simple landscape plan of 
the school grounds. This should be done early in the year, 
during, the first month of school preferably, for it will then be 
done, and furthermore much of the work in planting needs 
to be started in the early fall. Many suggestions and aids 
are now at hand for teachers who work faithfully on such 
an undertaking. Several state departments issue literature 
upon this subject. Here are four simple directions that can be 
effectively followed by any person: i. Use common, familiar 
things. 2. Plant in masses, avoiding straight lines. 3. Leave 
open spaces. 4. Select things adapted to the climate. Use the 
plant life of the local neighborhood as much as possible. Do 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 225 

this not only because it is beautiful and abundant but be- 
cause it should be the mission of the school to reveal this 
common, everyday beauty of field, forest, and stream. How 
often the mutilation of trees, the neglect of yards, and the 
vision of unsightly dumping grounds show a lack of such ap- 
preciation! Plant, by all means, as Nature does, in irregular 
masses, leaving open spaces for the eye to rest upon. 

What to Plant: Trees. If the grounds are treeless, trees 
should receive first attention. Set them not in mathematical 
rows with the stiff military precision formerly so much ad- 
mired, but irregularly and naturally, as they grow in their 
native woods. If shade is needed immediately, the soft wood 
trees, especially those of the maple family, as box-elder and 
soft-maple, will grow more rapidly than others, though in a 
permanent plan they are not good, as they split easily in storms. 
Elms, oaks, lindens, hard maples, and evergreens are much 
the best varieties to choose, not only for beauty but for 
strength, vigor, and permanency. Evergreens are especially 
good as bird attractors, and the interest of the birds should 
always be considered in this matter of tree planting. For 
screens around outbuildings or for windbreaks, nothing can 
surpass a clump of evergreens. The best varieties are the 
firs and spruces. The method of transplanting trees is too 
technical to be considered here, but the necessity of transplant- 
ing early must be borne in mind. The first warm days, just 
when the sap begins to stir, and long before the leaves appear, 
is the best time. 

Shrubs. Shrubs may be made a most important factor in 
beautifying a yard. They are not only captivating and showy 
in effect but rapid in growth and prompt in blooming. Favor 
the wild ones. Crab-apple, sumach, red-bud, dogwood, and 
wild plum are all to be had for the taking. Among cultivated 
shrubs, lilac, flowering almond, flowering quince, snow-ball, 
and roses, especially the ramblers, are always popular. For 



226 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



big strong color effects in the rear grounds or fence corners 
nothing is better than the golden spirea. Shrubs of the ber- 
ried variety are especially attractive in winter when most 
plant life is bare and cheerless. Send to Mr. Fred Haxton, 
owner of the Ottawa Gardens, 4717 Winthrop Avenue, Chi- 
cago, for free booklets entitled "Twelve Best Shrubs" and 

"Twelve Best Perennials." 
Vines. In the selection 
of vines, it is well again 
to take suggestions from 
the wild woods. What in 
the way of vines can be 
prettier than the deep- 
eyed woodbine in early 
fall or the fragrant wild 




grape 



in 



the spring ? 



Among 



the tame vines 
there are the morning- 
glory, hyacinth bean, wis- 
taria, moon-flower, Ma- 
deira vine, Boston ivy, 
and a multitude of others. 
Nothing is more orna- 
mental than beautiful 
vines. For arches, trel- 
lises, and quick growing 
screens, they are unsur- 
passed, and it is aston- 
ishing that we should so often allow the ugly spots and cran- 
nies of our homes to stare us in the face day after day when 
a few seeds thrust into the ground might transform them into 
scenes of grace and beauty. 

Flowers. Of flowers there is no end, but not all are equally 
useful and appropriate for schoolyard cultivation. Among 



A Monarch of the Prairie 



THE COUNTRY TEACHKU'S PROBLEM 227 

those best adapted to this purpose should he mentioned (lie 

peony, which can he used most effectively and which has 
recently become very popular will) landscape gardeners. IMant 

perennials chiefly, as they have the advantage of requiring 

less attention and work than annuals and biennials. Tulips, 
asters, dahlias, chrysanthemums, crocuses, sweet peas, and 
nasturtiums can he cultivated on any school ground without 

an unwarranted expenditure of effort. Violets, bluebells, wild 

pansies, and many other ot our wild llowers deserve con- 
sideration also. Children delight in flowers and should have 
plenty of them. 

HoUSS plants. Mouse plants the year round in a country 
school arc almost an impossibility owing to the cold weather 
and the difficulty of keeping up fires, hut some things can he 
had in the fall and spring, herns are always pleasing, and 
in the fall a potted chrysanthemum adds much to the at- 
tractiveness of the room. In the Spring, early window gar- 
dens and indoor vines, as smilax, Wandering Jew, and Ma- 
deira vines may he used most effectively, while Chinese lilies, 

jonquils, hyacinths, and narcissus will grow from bulbs in a 
vase of water and prove a delighl to all. 

Walks and Fences. The need of walks about the country 
school is not often fully realized. Concrete walks are not 
only more lasting and satisfactory than lumber hul in Hie 
long run are fully as cheap. Many farmers now experiment 
with the composition of concrete for home purposes and can 
often he induced to use their skill for the henefit of the school. 
A fence is a necessary protection for every schoolyard and 
need not he broken, used for kindling, or otherwise muti- 
lated. Heavy woven wire makes an admirahle fence:, though 
the virtues of a harrier to stray animals and of a hitching 
rack can he combined in a fence made of two-hy-six planks 
firmly bolted in place and neatly painted. In one' country 
school where such a fence was constructed, the children 



228 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



painted it themselves and managed to do a pretty fair job, 
too. In fact, surprising changes can be wrought by children 
when they once undertake a campaign for beauty. 

Summer Houses, Arbors, and Arches, A well-roofed sum- 
mer house would often prove a blessing as a playroom for 
younger children in warm, rainy weather. Such a building may 
be made by the older boys with a few oak or cedar posts and 
some shingles. Vines planted and trained over it will then 
make not only a thing of service but of beauty. Arches, arbors, 
lily-pools, and wigwams, made of poles and wire netting, over- 
grown with vines, are all suggestive to one interested in the 
improvement of grounds. Landscape education is largely, and 
for the country teacher almost wholly, a matter of suggestion. 
Watch such magazines as Country Life in America for new 

ideas and helpful sugges- 
tions. 

The Outbuildings. Of 
all the barbarous features of 
our country schools, none 
can compare with the usual 
outbuilding. In some cases, 
double buildings are still 
found, even though there 
may be a prohibitive state 
law to the contrary. Among 
school officers and teachers 
it is almost a unanimous de- 
cision that no other one in- 
fluence is more suggestive 
of immorality and vicious- 
ness than the isolated out- 
building. In truth, the most 
civilizing influence that could possibly be procured for the aver- 
age country school would be indoor toilets. But much can be 




A Disgrace to the Community 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 229 

done that is not done even now. In the first place, the build- 
ings can be kept clean, and with the necessary boards and doors 
in place. They can be cared for in a sanitary way, and the 
vaults can be cleaned and disinfected with lump copperas or 
lime when necessary. The interior can be painted, thus cover- 
ing up the inscriptions within, and a board screen can be placed 
before the entrance, over which vines may be trained. Children 
can be required to refrain from congregating in them and 
spending time in idle gossip, as they often do. They can also 
learn that the walls are not to be used as blackboards for un- 
sightly writing and sketches. All this is emphasized here be- 
cause it belongs to the country teacher's problem, and because 
it is certainly time for a campaign of morality regarding this 
matter of outbuildings. 

II. Socializing the Country School and Making It an 
Institution of Community Service 

Something has been said in foregoing chapters concerning 
the apathetic social relations of the average country school to 
its community. These conditions are too familiar to need 
lengthy comment. It is rather the purpose here to point out 
to the country teacher some ways of handling one of the 
most difficult and delicate phases of her larger problem. 

Personal Leadership of the Teacher; Visiting Among 
People. The leadership of the country teacher has been dis- 
cussed in an earlier chapter. The most natural beginning in 
this effort is likely to come through the customary evening 
visits in the homes. All-night visits are familiar to every 
country teacher, but the idea of making these visits an oppor- 
tunity for progress is not so familiar. By the wise teacher, 
however, the opportunity is fully appreciated. The farmer is 
at leisure in the evening, has just had a good supper, and is in a 
receptive frame of mind. Topics of conversation can very 



230 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

easily be directed to school matters. Some of the great social 
movements now stirring rural life, as the Grange, the farmers' 
institute, and the agricultural college, may also be discussed in 
this way as ordinary matters of conversation and thus brought 
to people who possibly know but little of their work and influ- 
ence. The benefits of consolidated schools can be gently 
urged through interesting accounts and descriptions of such 
schools as the John Swaney School, described in this book. 
How much better is conversation of this character than the 
silly and malicious gossip frequently heard. State and na- 
tional bulletins, where not already well known, may be intro- 
duced during these visits, too. The opportunity is one of no 
little moment. 

Social Activities of the Children ; Boys' and Girls' Clubs. 
Children, like adults, are social beings and love to congregate 
and work together. If this instinctive tendency is not recog- 
nized by the teacher and made to work in harmony with the 
best interests of the school, it will very likely work in the 
opposite direction and cause no little trouble through cliques, 
factions, and petty quarrels. Girls' clubs and boys' clubs are 
now quite common in country schools. Where the county 
superintendent dignifies this work by making it a county 
movement, the task becomes easy. But even where the assist- 
ance of the county superintendent is lacking much can be done. 
Here is the story of how a girls' club developed in one school : 

The teacher knew the value of organization among children and 
during one recess period incidentally mentioned the subject to a few of 
the girls. That was enough. The children did the rest. That very- 
day a meeting of all the girls in the seventh and eighth grades was 
called. The matter was thoroughly discussed, and it was decided, upon 
the suggestion of the teacher, to invite all the young women of the 
neighborhood who were living at home but not attending school to join. 
This was done and not only those of the school district and immediate 
locality, but others, three and four miles distant, improved the oppor- 
tunity and enrolled. In this way the number increased from eleven to 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



231 



twenty-one. At the first meeting the club was named, and was known 
henceforth as the Girls' Culture Club, the word culture being inserted 
because the primary purpose of the organization was to cultivate girls. 
The teacher was the guide, but a very companionable one, and 
through her sympathy soon grew to be the confidante of the girls in a 
way that made possible many things otherwise unattainable. The per- 
sonal growth and improvement of each girl was carefully watched and 
guarded. Among the considerations that received immediate and con- 
stant attention were the incorrect expressions in English. Matters of 
physical defect were also corrected. How many country boys and girls 
are allowed to grow into stooped, ungraceful figures just through the 
want of a little attention at the right time ! This close sympathy on 
the part of the teacher opened even more delicate problems and queries 
of young girlhood for. discussion. Many of the questions of life, relat- 



* kteMf.ftt 



Girls' Club Ready for the Thanksgiving Minuet 

ing to morality, sex, social relationship, health, and even religion, sub- 
jects often sadly neglected, were considered as experience and inquiry 
presented them for solution. 

Definite lines of education were pursued also. A chorus was formed, 
and some very delightful and happy hours were spent around the school 
piano, which the girls helped to buy. Several musical programs were 
given by the club through the year, among others a Christmas cantata, 
a folk-song program, and a spring concert. The teacher had had little 
musical training, but several of the girls had talent, and with their 
assistance surprising results were obtained; for music, like all other 
things, is largely a matter of enthusiasm. Through the influence of the 
club, the girls also became more deeply interested in literature, especially 
in general reading, and finally presented a few little plays. Local and 
educational excursions, too, were made by the club to points of interest. 



232 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



All the immediate manufacturing plants were visited in the course of 
two years. But this little club did not stop here. Sixty miles awa> 
was a large city where Shakespearean drama and good music could 
sometimes be heard, and hither the members journeyed one bright 
spring day, to see something of the life of a real city and to attend a 
musical concert and a good drama. 

Good, fresh, wholesome entertainment is much needed in the country. 
If young people had more of this at home there would be less discon- 
tent on the farm, and less moving to town. Such entertainment these 
girls provided for themselves in an interesting and refined form. Be- 
sides little social gatherings held in their homes and at school, they 
had several girlish frolics at the schoolhouse, always, of course, under 
the chaperonage of the teacher. 

Corn clubs for boys organized upon a county basis are 
now common throughout the corn-growing states. The largest 
and most unusual development of the boys' agricultural club 
idea, however, has grown up in the South under the direction 
of the late Dr. S. A. Knapp, of the Department of Agri- 
culture. In this movement 46,000 boys are enrolled. Corn 
growing is the medium of organization. Each boy cultivates 
one acre according to printed contract, one condition being 
that he shall do the work himself. Written reports and accounts 
are required. With the favorable climatic conditions of the 
South, marvelous results have been obtained through these 
clubs. One boy, Jerry Moore, of South Carolina, in 1910 
harvested 228 bushels and three pecks of shelled corn from 
his single acre, thus making the champion corn record of the 
world. But far more significant than world championships is 
the splendid manhood toward which these clubs and others of 
a similar purpose are leading the farm boys of today. 

Making the Schoolhouse a Center for the Community; 
Schoolhouse Meetings. Schoolhouses in the country are 
used as much for public meetings as elsewhere, but not half 
the good is thus gained that might be derived. If all the tax- 
payers in the community felt at home within the little school- 
house and made it a habit to come out to it occasionally, there 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



233 



would be less complaint about the expense of its maintenance. 
This whole argument of the place and relationship of the 
school in rural life savors of the idea that it should be made 
an educational dispensary for the community which supports 
it In no way can it do this more effectively than through 
evening gatherings. These meetings may be classified under 
three purposes : those for entertainment, those for money- 
making, and those for community instruction and inspiration. 
Gatherings for entertainment are seriously needed in the 
country, where hard physical labor is plentiful and recreation 
scarce. Musical programs prepared by the children, little plays 
by the young people of the 
neighborhood, and even 
schoolhouse parties of a 
wholesome and refined 
type may all furnish. such 
relaxation. School gath- 
erings for money-getting 
are unfortunately a neces- 
sity in most rural commu- 
nities — unfortunately so, 
because the financial sup- 
port of a school should 
properly be maintained by 
the people of the commu- 
nity. For a district to 
force a teacher to bear the additional burden of supplying 
money for the necessary maintenance of the school is not 
only unjust but reveals the greed and closeness of the district. 
Moreover, since the school is a public institution, its social 
and educational advantages should be free to all. The old- 
fashioned box social, or basket-supper, is the most common 
means of financial gain. When well managed in a good neigh- 
borhood, the box-supper is respectable, but too often it attracts 




Chorus Cast, Peru School, Macon 
County, Illinois 

An audience of one thousand people at 
tended this country school chorus 



234 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



undesirable visitors from some neighboring town or locality 
and has a smirching influence upon those present, especially the 
children. An ice-cream social, oyster supper, pay entertain- 
ment, school sale, or some other arrangement by which young 
children are not led to consider the question of pairing off, or to 
hear the questionable remarks of some coarse auctioneer, is 
much better. 

Evening meetings at the schoolhouse purposely designed for 
community inspiration and instruction are among the most 
worthy and influential of school gatherings. Many sources 
of aid lie close at hand, but are never suspected. Local min- 
isters, physicians, lawyers, editors, business men, the county 
superintendent, and neighboring teachers will usually all 
respond when invited to give a talk upon some educational 
topic related to their profession. No community is so starved 
but that some such effort is possible. But this is not the 
end. The farmers and their wives should eventually come to 
take an active part in. these meetings. A round-table discussion 
or a question box on some farm topic is a good beginning. 
Short papers, debates, or discussions of such subjects as the 
road problem, the consolidated school, the silo, improvements 
of corn, bread making, the farm home, the country church, and 
a hundred others, will provoke needed thinking and expres- 
sion. When the school has reached this point, the community 
will have developed its own leaders and may soon form a 
farmers' club or local grange to carry the good work further, 
as described in an earlier chapter. (See page 88.) 

Developing Cooperation Between the Home and the 
School; Parents' Clubs. The much-desired interest and 
cooperation of parents with the school is perhaps easier gained 
and held through the formality of an organization. For this 
purpose, a parents' association conducted on much the same 
lines as the girls' and boys' club is a useful agency. Not that 
a teacher is supposed to go into a community and set all the 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



235 



women "club crazy." This is a city evil that we need not 
imitate in the country. But such an organization as the one 
suggested has its place among parents everywhere, and espe- 
cially in the country, where mothers are busy and often need 
change and recreation. Meetings should be held about once a 
month, and the chief initiative should be exercised not by the 
teacher but by the parents. Topics of school and child wel- 
fare should constitute the program. 




Play Festival, Harlem Consolidated School, Winnebago 
County, Illinois 

Other Agencies for the Socialization of the Country 
School: Newspapers; Exhibits; Educational Excursions. 

The wide-awake teacher will not stop with suggestions given 
her by others, but will constantly adapt and seize every oppor- 
tunity that presents itself. Every community affords its own 
individual agencies for awakening a broader and better coun- 



236 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

try life. Those given here are simply suggestive. But a 
means practically always at the disposal of the ambitious 
teacher is the local newspaper. If the teacher is an original 
thinker and can occasionally write a few statements concern- 
ing local conditions, it will be best, but quoted articles on coun- 
try life subjects from books and periodicals are effective 
when given particular comment. Local school items prepared 
by the children prove interesting at home and furnish a good 
aim for written school work. Besides this, the bulletins of 
the state university or of the state department of education, 
relating to the improvement of farm life, should reach every 
family through the efforts of the local school. 

Well prepared exhibits of the children's work are also help- 
ful. These stimulate pride and increased effort in both chil- 
dren and parents, but care should be exercised to see that 
they do not become mere displays and their occasion an attempt 
to show off. Traveling art exhibits may be had, too. The 
Horace K. Turner Company, of Boston, Massachusetts, and 
the A. W. Elson Picture Company, also of Boston, now make 
special arrangements with schools by which mounted exhibits 
of pictures are sent out for study. A letter of inquiry to either 
company will bring all the details of agreement necessary to 
procure such an exhibit for a week. Three or four country 
schools together will find it quite possible to get one of these 
exhibits. 

Educational excursions, including both local and distant 
railway excursions, constitute another means of school social- 
ization. It is surprising how little is known by children, par- 
ticularly by country children, concerning matters outside their 
immediate environment. Foundries, flour mills, elevators, 
machine shops, potteries, brick yards, schools, court rooms, 
and churches, are all accessible and educationally more profit- 
able than the amount of ordinary school work neglected for 
their inspection. Of course rigid supervision must be exer- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



237 



cised over children during these visits and it is usually safest 
to take only the larger ones, but with due care there is prac- 
tically no danger. Railway excursions to neighboring cities 
or points of interest are often possible, and county educational 
excursions to the state university or college of agriculture are 
now quite common. The visions and larger appreciation given 
to country children in this way can scarcely be estimated. 
Although the latter undertaking is best managed by either 




Agricultural College Excursion, Edgar County, Illinois 

the county superintendent or the farmers' institute, an ener- 
getic teacher can play some part through suggestion and co- 
operation in bringing it to pass. 

A Country Life Club the Best Social Organization for 
the Country School. It is not implied here that the various 
methods given above for socializing country schools should all 
be undertaken in one school. The old adage concerning "too 
many irons in the fire" applies in this situation as elsewhere. 



238 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Each teacher should start the one, two, or three organizations 
that seem best adapted to her school, and carry these to suc- 
cess. In general, the best organization to develop is a Country 
Life Club. This club should be composed of all persons in 
the district and should meet fortnightly or monthly at the 
schoolhouse. Its machinery should be simple, its officers few, 
and the programs, for the most part, should consist of discus- 
sions of country life topics by the members. The advantages 
of the country life club over other social organizations are 
self-evident. In the first place, it unites the whole community, 
both old and young, in one organization. This, as already 
shown in earlier chapters, is of the utmost importance. In 
the second place, such a club, from its name, may legiti- 
mately consider any or all phases of country life. This makes 
it possible for the teacher to use a single organization in intro- 
ducing discussion and reform on any question of school or 
community welfare. For these reasons it is safe to say that 
an active country life club in every district school would prac- 
tically solve "the rural problem." 1 

Cooperation of the School with Other Community Institu- 
tions and Agencies. Another significant method of socializing 
the country school in addition to what may be done within the 
institution itself as already set forth, is through its cooperation 
with other community agencies. In every effort at progress 
the various institutions of the rural community should cooper- 
ate. This is not only more effective but is essential to peace 
and happiness. Some ways through which the teacher may 
help to induce such cooperation between the school and the 
home, church, Grange, farmers' institute, and road organiza- 
tion are discussed in the conclusions of chapters two, three, 
four, five, and six of this book. 

1 For a bulletin giving details and method of procedure in organizing 
clubs of this type address the Country School _ Department of the 
Illinois State Normal University at Normal, Illinois. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



239 



III. Vitalizing and Enriching the Country School 
Course of Study 

There is now a rather general impression that this whole 
task of regenerating the country school can be settled by the 
introduction of a little formal "agriculture." In the staid 
bookish way in which this is frequently done nothing could be 
farther from the real issue. What is needed, in fact, is not 
so much new courses in the country school curriculum as a 
new point of view and a new approach upon old courses. 
Take the subject of beginning reading, for example. Here are 
the little six-year-olds steeped in farm experiences. They 
know all about horses, cows, calves, colts, and other farm 
things. They have followed their father in the field and their 
mother in the garden. They know real life. Why, then, blot 
out all these valuable experiences on the very threshold of the 
schoolroom by forcing from them such perjurious declarations 
as "I see the ball," "I see an apple," and "I like my book"? 

This redirection of the 
country school is a matter 
of fundamental educa- 
tional philosophy, not of 
making farmers or of 
holding country children 
upon the land, as is often 
argued. The latter is de- 
sirable to a certain degree, 
and it is also true that 
while "it is not desirable 
to try to make farmers, 
it seems advisable to stop 

unmaking them." But neither the making nor the unmak- 
ing of farmers touches the quick of the country school 
problem educationally. To make this point a little clearer, 




Practical Arithmetic 



240 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

consider the teaching of agriculture in country schools. The 
common reason advanced for "introducing" this work is 
that it will "keep the boys on the farm." But educationally, 
agriculture should need no introduction. In its broad sense as 
daily farm-life experience it should be the backbone of every- 
thing in the whole school course, the common stock from 
which other studies spring. Arithmetic, reading, geography, 
and all other subjects, though not limited by it, should origi- 
nate from it and maintain direct connection with it. Agricul- 
ture should be taught, in other words, because it is the basic 
experience of country children, and all real teaching builds 
upon past experience, leading, in the familiar phrase, "from 
the known to the unknown." Thus nothing else can be prop- 
erly taught in the country school except through agriculture, 
that is, through the native home-life, or farm experience, of 
the children. 

The Redirection of Old Subject-Matter. The fuller 
meaning of some of these general statements can be best 
explained perhaps by a suggestive account of how one coun- 
try teacher met actual conditions and attempted to vitalize the 
work of an average rural school. 

To prevent community antagonism and for pedagogical rea- 
sons she began with the conventional branches of the curricu- 
lum, first carefully culling the traditional dead matter from 
each subject and attempting to impart a country school twist 
to what remained. This twist consisted chiefly in a new 
method of approach and a new application. The arithmetic 
retained its mathematical sequence, but became the arithmetic 
of the farm, not that of Wall Street. The time often spent 
on partial payments, compound interest, and cube root was 
used for the solution of original problems suggested by the 
corn crop, the feeding and shipping of cattle, the draining and 
fertilizing of fields, gardening, fruit raising, and farm sales. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 241 

Through problems of this type, 1 percentage, interest, book- 
keeping, and even bank discount, came to have a new mean- 
ing. Down the road from the schoolhouse a farmer was build- 
ing a sheep fold. This proved an excellent opportunity for 
introducing lumber measure and getting some first-hand expe- 
rience concerning it. Similar opportunities were discovered 
on every side, and will be revealed to any teacher who once 
gets the new point of view. The country community teems 
with them. 

In the same school the beginning work in first grade read- 
ing was based upon a miniature sand-table farm, whose plan- 
ning and construction enabled the children to talk and read in 
terms of their farm home experience. The fields and lots of 
this play farm were first fenced in ; the house, barn, and vari- 
ous buildings then constructed of paper ; and finally the fam- 
ily — miniature dolls, dressed for their respective parts, and 
the stock — paper creatures cut free-hand or from catalogs and 
farm journals — all moved in. Each child took care to have his 
own home pets represented among the common herds, and the 
whole undertaking became the source of clear and absorbing 
reading lessons on both blackboard and chart. 

Geography, too, felt the quickening influence of this new 
interpretation. Local weather conditions, landscape features, 
soil, wind, drainage, and the question of roads and transporta- 
tion were soon seen to have the closest relationship to this 
subject which had formerly been regarded as confined between 
the covers of the text. Literature and composition profited by 
the same treatment. The larger boys, fresh from the stern 
realities of corn-husking, did not notice the drudgery of learn- 
ing correct letter forms when writing to the Department of 

1 For sets of such problems see Elementary Agriculture by Hatch 
and Haselwood, published by Row, Peterson and Co., Chicago, at 50 
cents, and The Corn Lady by Jessie Field, published by A. Flanagan 
Co., Chicago. Price 60 cents. 



242 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Agriculture for desired bulletins, fully realizing, as one boy 
put it, that "a fellow has to get a letter up in shape if he's 
going to send it off:" Class debates and papers on road- 
dragging, burning corn-stalks, moving to town, chores, the 
raising of a corn crop, and the right kind of country school, 
did not seem to be particularly hard or foreign, either. In the 
reading lessons the good times of Whittier's Snowbound and 
the story of "that boy in Wordsworth's Michael who left 
home," as well as numerous nature poems, all made a direct 
appeal to these boys and girls who saw their counterpart in 
actual life every day. Even in drawing the interest was 
enhanced and the common things of farm life were newly 
revealed when the teacher took the classes out of doors to 
observe the remarkable color masses of the distant woods and 
young grain, or asked each member of the class to study the 
sunset before tomorrow, as it would be the subject for the next 
painting lesson. Music, too, was a new delight when some 
of the songs were about "the lark that sings at Heaven's 
gate," or "the violets that budded today," or the farmer who 
raises wheat for bread, "so that all the hungry with it may 
be fed." 

The Introduction of New Courses. But this revised 
teaching of old courses, while fundamental in the redirection 
of the country school, is not adequate. Industrial develop- 
ment in the rural community has far outgrown the limited 
school curriculum, and to bridge this chasm new courses are 
needed, especially agriculture, home science, and manual train- 
ing. In outlining these courses in the school whose story is 
partially narrated here it was necessary to make a study of 
the life, industry, and homes of the people ; to see what they 
needed, and then incorporate these things into the course of 
study. The teacher referred to in this tale, like many others, 
had had no special preparation in either agriculture or house- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 243 

hold science, but, being inspired with a new vision of country 
school service, she determined to do what she could. 

Some points of the first work in agriculture illustrate the 
development of this idea. The course was begun early in the 
spring by a brief study of soils. This was followed by the. 
study of seedlings and plants and the necessity for crop 
rotation and soil fertilization. By this time corn was being 
planted, and this called forth a discussion of plowing, the 
preparation of the seed bed, and the influence and care of 
farm machinery. Soon the corn was through the ground, but 
no sooner had it appeared than the cut-worm came also. Here 
was a subject in which the whole community felt the keenest 



if 







A Sand-table Farm 

interest. The cut- worm, therefore, became the special object 
of study in the agriculture class for several days. Bulletins 
were procured, and enough of the life history of the insect 
was worked out to suggest the best time of attack in its 
control. 

In the meanwhile, corn had been grown in the school gar- 
den, which was now used as a testing plot for trying out 
the various cut-worm remedies recommended in books and 
bulletins on agriculture. In this testing plot the whole com- 



244 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

munity became interested. Church-goers stopped on Sunday 
to investigate it, and farmers of the neighborhood paid it fre- 
quent visits, even coming inside the schoolhouse in their 
working clothes, upon several occasions, to listen to the reci- 
tations of the class in agriculture. Following this the feeding 
and care of dairy cows was discussed. A Babcock test was 
procured, and the milk of the various cows kept for dairy pur- 
poses in the neighborhood was tested, with the result that 
about one-half were found to be poor investments, while sev- 
eral were not paying for their keep. 

The domestic science course in the same school illustrates 
the close connection between the needs of the community and 
the school, even better, perhaps, than the work in agriculture 
just described. In her nightly visits in the neighborhood, the 
teacher found that children slept in rooms with a lamp turned 
low all night, and with windows closed or but slightly raised. 
She noticed that some of the homes were crudely decorated 
with gaudy wall paper, tissue-paper flowers, and cheap lace 
curtains and carpets. She observed, too, that several of the 
girls were unattractively dressed, and this only because their 
garments were poorly fitted and unbecomingly made. Having 
observed these things, she set to work to make a course of 
study for her particular children, dealing with these particular 
conditions. This course included, among other things, some 
discussion of the more common principles of diet, the proper 
way of serving a plain home meal, the necessity and benefit of 
plenty of fresh air, and the planning, selection, cutting, and 
fitting of simple school dresses. 

Later, the planning, construction, decoration, and furnish- 
ing of a modern country home was developed. In working 
out this phase of the course, the girls did much reading, talked 
with contractors, investigated lighting and plumbing systems, 
visited furniture stores, and were shown through a modern, 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



245 



well-planned house in the town near by. The ideal thus estab- 
lished served as a good standard for later work. The improve- 
ment and remodeling of existing homes in the community was 
then taken up. Each member of the class made a plan of 
her house as it was and a second plan showing how labor- 
saving improvements and changes might be made. Remodeled 
furnishing, sanitation, and decoration were considered in 
detail. Throughout this work, in spite of early fears, the 
heartiest support was given from the mothers of the neighbor- 
hood, and its practical influence soon became noticeable in 
various homes. 

Elementary Rural Sociology in the Country School. The 
teacher of this school had another idea along the line of a 
vitalized course of study. 
This referred to the study 
of elementary rural sociol- 
ogy, or country life con- 
ditions, in the country 
school. She knew of uni- 
versities and colleges of 
agriculture where students 
were given an opportunity 
to consider some of the 
social and economic prob- 
lems confronting Ameri- 
can farmers today. Then 
came the idea of bringing these matters before the older boys 
and girls of her country school, the majority of whom would 
remain in the home neighborhood and have these very prob- 
lems to solve. Groping desperately for organization and con- 
venient reference material, she eventually worked out a sim- 
plified course based upon the experience of the children that 
might be given in any country school. Such a course will be 




Country School Gardening in 
Massachusetts 



246 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

found an excellent means for developing a higher idealism of 
country life. 1 

The suggestions of this narration are but faint glimmer- 
ings of the light that is soon to fall upon rural education. 
The country school of the future will reflect the life of the 
farm and the needs of the open country, both educational and 
social. It will teach farmers and farm children to live and to 
live fully and richly. In procedure, it will no longer put the 
cart before the horse, but will turn things squarely about and 
make agriculture, manual arts, and home science, which are 
now regarded as accessories, the very fundamentals of the 
curriculum. To these, and to the great question of living well, 
it will relate all else. Arithmetic, reading, language, and other 
conventional subjects will then be seen to grow out of, and 
spring naturally from this common source of basic need and 
experience, and will be understood not as ends in themselves 
but as tools to a higher end. And in this day, it may be added, 
there will be less dissatisfaction with country life, less moving 
to town, and a new understanding of what is meant by a 
country school. 

IV. Improving the Administration of the School and 

Teaching the Necessity of a Change of System, 

or. Consolidation, for Country Schools 

To some readers the emphasis placed here upon the sys- 
tematic education of country communities toward consolidation 
as a fourth point of attack in the solution of the country teach- 
er's, problem may seem unwarranted. But the awkward, out- 
grown machinery of school organization under which country 
teachers are now forced to expend their effort simply must give 
way to a more thorough and efficient system before anything 
permanently effective can be done for country schools. By 

1 For an outline of this course address the Country School Depart- 
ment of the Illinois State Normal University at Normal. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



247 



this it is not assumed that a graded rural system, when once 
installed, will run itself without further effort. The consoli- 
dated school will require just as much money and just as 
much attention and cooperation, to insure success, as any 
school. It is maintained only that the graded system does 
away with the hopeless defects of the one-teacher school and 




The Harvest — Training School — Children of the Western Illinois 
State Normal School 



provides a foundation upon which it is possible to build with 
some adequate degree of success. And by the graded system 
is meant here, let it be understood, a graded country school ; 
not an imitation of the average city system of mechanical 
formality. For these reasons the deliberate, purposeful instruc- 
tion of a community toward this end is a service worthy the 
integrity and energy of every country teacher. 



248 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The Beginning of a Consolidation Campaign. 1 No stere- 
otyped method for such a campaign can be given. It is but 
the intention here to offer some suggestions that may be useful 
to wide-awake teachers who have mettle enough to enter the 
arena in this just and righteous cause against the unfair treat- 
ment of country children. What works well in one commu- 
nity, or in the hands of one teacher, may fail utterly with 
others. Each teacher must study local conditions carefully 
and apply the specific measures recommended by a careful 
judgment. Everything tending toward an educational awaken- 
ing furthers the interest in consolidation, for to realize the 
latent possibilities of farm life and rural education is to 
become a thorough convert to the efficiency of the consoli- 
dated school. 

Visiting in the homes offers the first and most direct oppor- 
tunity for the stimulation of an interest in this matter of 
consolidation. Make the first discussions merely a matter 
of enlightenment, not of aggressive argument. Describe con- 
solidated schools as a new departure, of which you have 
recently been reading. Give vivid descriptions of such schools 
as the John Swaney School of Illinois, and some of the best 
types in Indiana and elsewhere. Carry with you books, pic- 
tures, and literature descriptive of these schools. Write to 
your state department of education or to the state agricultural 
college for consolidation bulletins. These will be sent to any 
address in large numbers if an explanation and an offer to 
pay express accompanies the request. Other bulletins are 
listed in the bibliography of this book. Leave a marked bulle- 
tin or two of this character with each family and it will usually 
be read. In this way general information on the subject can 
be brought into each home with little effort and without heated 
antagonism. 

1 A special bulletin upon this subject may be_ procured from the 
Illinois State Normal University at Normal, Illinois. 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 249 

General Educational Campaigns. Follow this house-to- 
house canvass by a series of educational meetings and dis- 
cussions at the schoolhouse or elsewhere, revealing the defi- 
ciencies of the present system, and showing something of the 
educational ideal to be attained. Talks on manual training, 
agriculture, domestic science, and all other topics relating to 
the improvement of the local school, can be quietly made to 
emphasize the great necessity for a change of system. Get- 
ting such lectures for the little isolated schoolhouse is some- 
thing of a problem, but an earnest teacher will not despair for 
this reason. Call first upon the energy of your county super- 
intendent. After this try to enlist the aid of some ambi- 
tious young educator in a neighboring school or town. If 
formerly connected, through summer schools, or in some other 
way, with a state or county normal school — and every teacher 
should have such connections — write to normal school instruct- 
ors for aid. As a last resort, gather up your courage, arrange 
your thoughts connectedly, and face your little audience on 
the home ground yourself. There should be nothing startling 
in this suggestion to one who teaches every day. In the 
golden age of rural school prosperity there will probably 
be some agency whose especial duty it is to conduct campaigns 
of this sort. Country school extension is a new term, but a 
very practical idea. Some normal schools are in fact even 
now beginning to organize such work. 

Township or Community Organization. Teachers who 
expect to succeed in an effort of this kind must manifest 
eternal vigilance and keep their eyes open for every opportu- 
nity that presents itself. The chief point to be gained in a 
campaign for the consolidation of schools is a feeling of co- 
operation and a broader and closer community relationship. For 
this purpose some educational organization, as a country life 
club or a parent-teacher club in the township or territory to 
be considered, is very helpful. Township exhibits, rallies, or 



250 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



entertainments, in which the children of individual schools par- 
ticipate, have also been handled for this purpose with marked 
success. 

Outspoken Consolidation Campaigns. By this time a 
definite outspoken consolidation campaign may be under- 
taken. One of the most profitable things that can be done now 
is to have a good lecture on consolidated schools illustrated 
with a stereopticon. A letter of inquiry to the nearest state nor- 
mal school in any state will suggest sources of assistance for 
this purpose. Interesting mass meetings, question boxes, dis- 
cussions, and debates on the subject have also been held in the 
winter evenings at some schoolhouses, with the desired effect. 
The object is simply to get the whole community vitally alive 
to the benefits and necessity of a change in the present order 
of things. A small committee of the leading enthusiastic citi- 
zens, who will take upon themselves the responsibility of plan- 
ning meetings, scattering literature, and the general campaign- 
ing, has often rendered good service in this connection. A 
chart of statistical data worked out on a piece of oilcloth and 
hung upon the walls of the schoolroom, where all present at 
meetings may see it and draw their own conclusions, is valu- 
able also. Data for this chart covering the school census, 
length of term, teachers' salaries, total cost, cost per capita, 
assessed valuation of property, amount certified, tax rate, and 
any other information whose consideration adds to the weight 
of the argument for consolidating, may be obtained from 
the county clerk's office. Make also a map of the territory 
under consideration after a similar fashion, on which houses, 
existing schools, and the central school may be located, and 
possible transportation routes traced. 

All teachers, especially country teachers, should be familiar 
with the chief points of school law in their respective states. 
In some states, this change to consolidation is a comparatively 
easy and simple process. In others, it is difficult and compli- 



THE COUNTRY TEACHER'S PROBLEM 



251 



cated. The state of Illinois, for example, is in this latter class. 
Practically no legislative provisions have so far been made 
here bearing upon the consolidation of rural schools. The 
time now seems close at hand, however, when some definite 
action may be accomplished. In the meantime let country 




Play-day Masque, Illinois State Normal University 



teachers, farmers, educators, and agriculturists, here and in 
other states so handicapped, continue a never-ceasing, ham- 
mering campaign until the thousands of country children 
affected by the present limited educational opportunity are 
freed from this greatest injustice of our school system. 



CHAPTER XI 
THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 

The Need for Properly Prepared Country Teachers. The 

whole rural problem, as pointed out in former chapters, is 
practically the problem of the country school. (See pp. 14, 17, 
I 35-) Farming will hold its own against the call of town 
and city only when country life becomes as satisfying as that 
of the town. And this is clearly a question of school control, 
since the idealism and ability necessary to make country 
life satisfying are but matters of training for which the dis- 
trict school, as the local agency of rural education, should 
stand chiefly responsible. When country schools become 
effective centers of learning, instructing both children and 
adults in terms of country life and pointing the way to com- 
munity prosperity and welfare, moving to town will decrease 
among farmers, and "the rural problem" will be near solution. 

The greatest single need for the improvement of country 
life at the present time, therefore, is for a corps of properly 
prepared country teachers who will enter our existing country 
schools and, through vitalized teaching and tactful social lead- 
ership, convert them into living centers for the instruction of 
both children and adults and the complete upbuilding of coun- 
try community life. 

Necessity for the Special Training of Country Teachers. 
Notwithstanding the necessity for properly prepared country 
teachers, but little specific attention has thus far been given to 
the question of their training. Out of a total of almost two 
hundred state normal schools in the United States, less than 

252 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



253 



a dozen are making special effort to meet the new demands 
now being laid upon country teachers. Prominent in this 
small group may be cited the normal schools at Kalamazoo, 
Michigan; Cheney, Washington; Kirksville, Missouri; La- 
Crosse, Wisconsin; Lewiston, Idaho; and at Macomb and 
Normal, Illinois, all of which now have special departments 
for this purpose. 

A chief cause for this neglect on the part of normal schools 
has been the belief in normal school circles that no special 
training is necessary for country teaching. It is even com- 
monly argued that a good teacher will teach any school well 
and there should be no differentiation. To this view leaders of 
country life take strong exception. The general normal school 
training supposed to answer all requirements for country 
teachers is conceded to be very helpful, but it is usually 
planned with reference to the needs and conditions of city 
teachers and city schools. It takes little account, even when 
meaning to do so, of the baffling conditions of the country 
school. It neglects not only the peculiar problems of country 
school organization, management, and teaching, but especially 
those of rural community welfare and social relationship. The 
well-trained country teacher needs a deep appreciative insight 
into the problems of country life, and an exalted faith in its 
innate beauty and final triumph, which she cannot get from 
this general training. When kindergartners, primary, and 
secondary teachers, and various teachers in different subjects, 
are offered special training, what argument can hold against 
the special training of country teachers? Certainly not a 
lack of need either on the part of the rural teaching force 
or on the part of society for efficient country life leaders. 

At least three basic reasons may be offered in advocating the 
special training of country teachers: 1. The peculiarities of 
the ungraded school system afford numerous characteristic 
difficulties in the way of management, administration, and 



254 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

teaching. Consider, for example, the difference in making 
a program for a one-class graded school and a five-to-eight- 
class country school. 2. The adaptation of subject-matter to 
the experience of country children requires special attention. 
Arithmetic is arithmetic everywhere, but its best teaching 
demands the use of the local environment, which on the part of 
the country teacher calls for a careful pedagogical study of 
the rural community. 3. The sociological conditions of the 
country differ from those of the city and demand special 
study on the part of teachers who are to work in rural locali- 
ties. This is an invariable argument and one of particular 
significance. 

Kind of Special Training Needed by Country Teachers. 
Perhaps there would be less antagonism to this general thesis 
if those who oppose it had more carefully thought out the 
kind of training to be offered for country teachers. This 
preparation should consist of both general and special instruc- 
tion. By general training is meant here all the scholarship and 
professional study necessary for any teacher. In these lines, 
in an ideal situation, the country teacher, who has all ages of 
children to instruct, should, if anything, be even better versed 
than the grade teacher. Special training for country teachers 
should be of two kinds : 

First, that of a rural pedagogical type, relating to the special 
problems of country school management and instruction, espe- 
cially to those problems imposed by the peculiar conditions 
of the present ungraded country school system. This training 
should include much agriculture and household science, reveal- 
ing to the prospective country teacher how these subjects form 
the backbone of the redirected country school. But agricul- 
ture alone does not afford, as some seem to think, all that is 
needed in the way of special preparation for country teaching. 

Second, that of a sociological nature, preparing for rural 
leadership. This training should give teachers an insight into 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



255 



country life in its broadest social aspects and relationships. It 
should impress upon them the place of the school as a socializ- 
ing agency in present farm life, the unlimited opportunity 
of the well-prepared country teacher, and the necessity of 
changes in the rural educational system. Above all else, it 




Teachers' Training School, Dunn County, Wisconsin 



should inspire them with a high ideal of the possibilities and 
beauty of the country and should give them courage and faith 
to work steadfastly towards this ideal. It should, in other 
words, fill them with a new vision of country life and country 
teaching. 

Special Training Now Offered for Country Teachers: 
In High Schools. Special preparation for country teachers 



256 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

is now being offered through three agencies : the state-aided 
high school, the county normal school or training class, and 
the state normal school. 

The states of Vermont, New York, Michigan, Minnesota, 
Indiana, Kansas, and Nebraska furnish aid to high schools 
offering pedagogical training. "In Kansas," says State Super- 
intendent E. T. Fairchild, "this course is one of the most 
popular educational movements ever inaugurated. During the 
first year of the operation of this law, seven hundred seniors 
took the normal training course, and this year (1910) more 
than twelve hundred seniors are taking the training course. 
Additional appropriations were made at the recent sessions of 
the legislature — enough to add forty more high schools to the 
list of those conducting normal training courses. We have 
every expectation, therefore, that in a very short time from 
fifteen hundred to two thousand high school graduates who 
have devoted the last year of their course in large part to the 
consideration of educational problems will be available annu- 
ally for our rural schools." 

Minnesota also has worked out a good development of rural 
training in high schools. Here state aid to the amount of $750 
a year is granted to each high school maintaining a peda- 
gogical department. About eighty schools have availed them- 
selves of this privilege. These departments offer one year of 
work and are usually in charge of capable supervisors. Every 
effort is being made to adapt them to country school needs, 
and when this adaptation is assured it is evident that the high 
school affords a most available and immediate agency for the 
partial preparation of country teachers. The county normal 
school and the state normal school, however, as institutions 
designed primarily for the training of teachers, are s.till more 
effective for this purpose. 

In County Normal Schools. The county training school 
system, as organized in Wisconsin and Michigan, is in many 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 257 

ways the best plan thus far developed for the preparation of 
country teachers. The state normal school possesses many ad- 
vantages in the way of larger social and professional relation- 
ships impossible to the smaller school, but these are partly offset 
by the unity and tangibility of conditions represented in the 
county institution. The chief advantage of this system to the 
state, however, lies in the large number of teachers thus annu- 
ally turned out. The following paragraphs from a bulletin on 
The Training of Rural School Teachers, written by Superin- 
tendent H. S. Youker, and issued by the Wisconsin State 
Department of Education, summarize well the chief features of 
this plan: 

When a county wishes to establish a training school, the County 
Board must vote to establish the school. This application must receive 
the approval of the state superintendent, and the school is conducted 
under his supervision. The governing body of the school is a com- 
mittee consisting of the County Superintendent and two members 
appointed by the County Board. 

In most cases these schools have a building and equipment of their 
own. The building is provided by the county. The expense of main- 
tenance is borne by the state and the county, the state bearing two- 
thirds of the expense and the county one-third. 

A diploma from a training school, after one year of successful teach- 
ing by the graduate, has the force of a third grade county certificate 
for three years. The work in the training school is accredited at the 
state normal schools, the amount of credit depending on the prepara- 
tion of the student before entering the training school. The course of 
study in the training school is now two years in length. 

Training school pupils have the privilege of observation and practice 
teaching in the city schools. Reports from the different training schools 
show that the amount of this practice teaching varies from five to 
twenty weeks. 

The Wisconsin training schools are reaching the country people as 
no other institution can. The salaries paid to the training school fac- 
ulties are sufficient to draw into the service of training country teachers 
the very best talent in Wisconsin. The teachers they furnish to the 
country schools have the training and the sympathy which enables them 



258 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

to make education for country boys and girls more nearly hit the mark. 
May the plan be extended until everywhere in Wisconsin the boy and 
the girl on the farm have as good educational advantages as any 
children in the land. 

Country Teacher Training in State Normal Schools. 

But neither the good work nor the extension of county normal 
schools will ever excuse the state normal school from its 
proper share of responsibility in the training of country teach- 
ers. A broader outlook is the greatest need of the country 
teacher, and this the state institution, with its larger social and 
cultural contact, is better able to give than the county training 
school. This is said by no means in a spirit of belittling the 
good work cited above, but only to emphasize the duty of the 
state institution. As rural education develops and consolidated 
schools become generally established, there will be a constantly 
increasing demand for better country teachers. Such thorough 
and complete training as will then be commonly demanded can 
be offered only in large, well-equipped institutions ; and state 
normal schools, instead of being relieved from this duty, will 
be forced to give it serious and thoughtful attention, and will 
gladly comply with demands. 

Indiana. To the Indiana State Normal School at Terre 
Haute belongs the credit for making the first special effort for 
the training of country teachers. Since 1902 a country school 
has been maintained here as a part of the regular practice 
school. This school is a true country school, located in a rural 
district, six miles from the normal school, with which it is 
connected by electric car line. All members of the senior 
class of the normal school are required to teach in it for at 
least one week. Whether or not this is the best policy is a 
problem yet to be worked out by those responsible for the suc- 
cess of the undertaking. But the mere fact that a country 
school has been placed in the training department of such an 
institution has tended to dignify rural teaching in the eyes 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



259 



of all who have come in contact with the normal school and 
has forced upon them some appreciation of rural conditions. 

Missouri. The Missouri State Normal School at Kirksville, 
through the influence of its president, John R. Kirk, has also 
conducted an ungraded school since 1907. A building has 
been erected for this purpose on the normal school campus, and 
the children, who come chiefly from two different rural dis- 
tricts, are transported to the city in hacks. This building, 




Dramatization of Hiawatha, Rural Observation School, 
Kalamazoo, Michigan 



which is constructed in harmony with all the principles of con- 
venience and beauty, is an unusual example of rural school 
architecture and has been quite extensively copied over the 
state. But to some, its location in town, removed from a nat- 
ural country environment, seems likely to destroy its funda- 
mental characteristics as a country school. This danger is men- 
tioned here, not in any spirit of criticism, but only because of its 
serious bearing upon the general question of rural education. 
In all effort toward progress it must be remembered that we 



260 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

want country schools for country children. We have long tried 
the alternative of urban schools, especially in the case of the 
township and city high school, and have found them a misfit. 
What we must have for the farm is a farm school — that is, 
one whose environment, interests, and social influence, are all 
in vital sympathy with country life. Such a school is not 
likely to be maintained in a large city, though a small village 
or agricultural trading center may be essentially rural in its 
influence. The disadvantages of location in the case of the 
Kirksville school, however, are said, by its management, to be 
more than offset by its increased convenience for purposes of 
observation and practice among the normal school students. 
The whole plan is here developing rapidly now under the 
direction of educators thoroughly in sympathy with country 
school needs and view points. A special Department of 
Rural Education has just been established, which enrolls 
three hundred students, and is at present the most generously 
supported of any similar normal school department in the 
United States. A valuable bulletin, setting forth the organiza- 
tion and service of this department in greater detail, is listed 
in the bibliography of this book, and may be procured upon 
request. 

Michigan. To Michigan belongs the credit of developing 
the most effective and unified state plan thus far worked out 
for the preparation of country teachers. Here county train- 
ing classes have long been authorized, and since 1897 each 
of the state normal schools has been required by law to offer 
special rural courses. The normal school at Kalamazoo has 
done more along this line of special training for those who 
are to teach in the country than any other in Michigan. 

A Rural School Department is here maintained and two 
courses are offered, an elementary and an advanced, each two 
years in length. The first of these is planned for graduates of 
the common school and the second for those who have finished 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 261 

the tenth grade. Teachers who have completed the work of 
the county training classes, which provide a one-year course, 
may take the advanced course in a year. This affiliation of 
the state normal schools with the county institutions encour- 
ages those who have gained the limited and elementary prepa- 
ration of the training classes to continue work in the regular 
normal school. A typical rural school under the direction 
of the department is provided for purposes of observation, 
though no actual teaching is done by students of the course 
at present. Among the most distinctive features of the plan 
as here developed are a Rural Sociology Seminar, or country- 
teacher club, enrolling all students of the department as mem- 
bers, and an annual series of "rural progress lectures." 

Washington. All state normal schools in Washington, espe- 
cially the one at Cheney, have at present fully developed and 
heartily supported rural school departments. Here the progres- 
siveness of the people, the friendliness of a legislature that has 
still the people's welfare at heart, and the general spirit of 
growth and prosperity, have all tended to create the most favor- 
able conditions for this work that can be found anywhere. In 
the school at Cheney, as in Michigan, two courses are offered 
for country teachers, an elementary and a secondary course, 
but the entrance requirements of these courses are higher than 
those of Michigan. Each is two years in length, the first 
accepting students of tenth grade rank and granting an ele- 
mentary diploma, or certificate, upon completion, and the 
second accepting students of eleventh year rank and granting 
a secondary diploma, or certificate. These certificates are 
given by the state without examination, permitting recipients 
to teach two and three years, respectively. This recognition 
of the work and the generous salaries offered to country teach- 
ers attract a large number of young people, both men and 
women, into these courses. 

Since the inception of the Rural School Department in the 



262 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Normal School at Cheney, county superintendents working 
in conjunction with it have established what are- known as 
county observation schools. These schools are intended to 
approximate ideal country school conditions so far as possible, 
but no special assistance is given them by the superintendent, 
except to insure the employment of, good teachers and to 
encourage the directors to make all reasonable improvements. 
The normal school, however, renders them some special serv- 
ice through an intermittent system of supervision and advisory 
correspondence, and through furnishing speakers for com- 
munity meetings. This work has not yet developed fully, but 
the idea is a fundamental one and well worthy of imitation. 

Another notable phase of the country school movement at 
Cheney has been the introduction in the summer school of a 
special course of six weeks' duration for the benefit of 
newly-elected and inexperienced county superintendents. This 
meager course, so far as investigation has revealed, is the 
only instance of a direct attempt for the special training of 
county superintendents yet made in the United States. 

Illinois. In September, 191 1, the Illinois State Normal Uni- 
versity at Normal established a special Country School Depart- 
ment. Strong emphasis is placed in this institution upon leader- 
ship and the sociological aspects of rural teaching. The keynote 
of the effort expended by the department here in fact is well 
summarized in the phrase : the country school as a center for 
redirected education and community building. Three courses 
are offered : a one-year course for students having two years 
of high school preparation, an elementary two-year course for 
graduates of the eighth grade, and an advanced two-year 
course for juniors and seniors of regular normal school rank. 
The chief criterion in all work of the department is a special 
adaptation to the needs of country schools. The complete 
program of studies offered in the elementary two-year course, 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



263 



which will further illustrate the character of this work, is as 
follows, the year being divided into three terms : 



Nature Study- 
United States History 
Composition and 

Grammar 
Primary Construction 
Physical Training 



Arithmetic Method 
Problems of Country 

Life 
Geography Method 
Literature and Reading 
Principles of Teaching 



FIRST YEAR 
Arithmetic 
Orthography 
Composition and 

Grammar 
Household Science 
Physical Training 

SECOND YEAR 
Physiology and Rural 

Sanitation 
Civics and History of 

Illinois 
Household Art 
Country School Method 



Country School 
Organization 
Geography 
Agriculture 
Drawing 
Physical Training 



Agriculture and Natun 

Study 
Literature Method 
Reading Method, 

(6 weeks) 
History Method, 

(6 weeks) 




Country Teachers at the Illinois State Normal University 



The organization of the Country School Department here is 
threefold and is designed to require eventually the services of 
three special instructors. These phases may be defined as 
follows : 



264 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

1. The special resident courses relating exclusively to coun- 
try schools and country life; namely, the courses in country 
school organization and management, country school method 
and observation, rural sociology, and agricultural economics. 1 
To these should be added the Country Life Club, an organiza- 
tion maintained among the students of the department for the 
discussion of rural problems. 

2. The work of the Country Training School, including 
both observation and practice teaching. Though as yet only 
in initial stages, this work is regarded as the basis of the 
whole department, and is being developed largely after the 
practical manner of the Country Training School of the 
Western Illinois State Normal School at Macomb, which is 
described in succeeding paragraphs. 

3. The extension work as organized under a special Divi- 
sion of Cooperative Country School Extension. 

The most unique feature of this scheme of organization 
is the extension work. This opportunity for assistance is 
extended to any country teacher in Illinois who will agree to 
meet certain requirements. Blanks designed for the purpose 
are first filled out by those enrolling in this work and are 
filed with the department. These contain information about 
the teachers and their schools and communities, and con- 
stitute a meager survey of the school locality. One specific 
problem of country school or community improvement is then 
selected by each cooperating teacher who agrees to organize 
a campaign for its advancement and to attempt to carry it 
through to a solution. A written report with photographs 
and diagrams showing results and the method of procedure 
in attacking this problem is then rendered by each cooperator 
before May 1. Some of these reports are published as bulle- 
tins by the department, and others are used in special country 

1 For outlines of two of these courses, see appendix, Sections 1 and 2. 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 265 

school exhibits. Satisfactory work accomplished in this man- 
ner is given regular credit counting toward graduation. 

In return for this exertion the department performs recip- 
rocal services for cooperating teachers. Speakers from the 
normal school are sent out into local country schools to give 
talks on various phases of school and community improve- 
ment. A portable stereopticon, which can be used without 
electricity at any country schoolhouse, forms a part of the 
equipment for this purpose. The traveling expenses of these 
speakers are paid by the communities requesting their services, 
thus insuring the self-support of the plan. Bulletins relating 
to various phases of country school and country life work are 
published from time to time for free distribution. A chief 
source for much of the material used in these bulletins is 
found in the work and development of the Country Training 
School. Other materials are furnished through the work of 
country teachers out in the schools of the state and especially 
from the undertakings of those cooperating with the depart- 
ment. The ultimate intention is to issue these bulletins monthly. 

A further assistance of the department is its service as a 
general bureau of information on country school and country 
life matters, to which rural teachers and directors may turn 
for information and help. Still another method of advancing 
the extension idea as worked out at Normal is the preparation 
of exhibits which may be taken or sent out to country com- 
munity gatherings and teachers' institutes. A limited number 
of books on rural themes is also loaned by the department to 
cooperating teachers. As a final means of country school 
propaganda, the department assists in promoting annual coun- 
try school conferences, which convene at the normal school 
each year during the summer term and which are proving 
most effective stimulants for rural educational progress. 

Among the earlier pioneers that took up the training of 



266 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

country teachers before the Country Life Movement became 
popularized was the Western Illinois State Normal School at 
Macomb. Country school work at the Macomb Normal School 
was introduced through the efforts of its late principal, Alfred 
Bayliss, formerly state superintendent of Illinois for eight 
years and a man thoroughly familiar with the needs of coun- 
try schools and desirous of serving them. To Mr. Ba)diss 
more than to any other is due the credit for the realizations 
that have since unfolded from this initial step. Until recently, 
Illinois provided neither funds nor legislation conducive to 
this effort, and this work, as developed at Macomb, therefore 
serves as a good illustration of what is possible on the part of 
an earnest state normal school even under unfavorable cir- 
cumstances. Since 1907 a special one-year course has been 
offered at Macomb for prospective country teachers. Admis- 
sion to this course is limited to the holders of second grade 
certificates and to graduates of the eighth grade recommended 
by county superintendents. The most serious criticism of this 
plan, as at present inaugurated, is its brevity. However, as 
Mr. Bayliss has said in referring to this point, "Until the time 
arrives when boards of directors will refuse to employ very 
young and quite unprepared teachers, such a course as this 
will doubtless be necessary if the normal school is to meet 
the requirements of all sorts and conditions of schools." 

A chief feature of the Country School Department at 
Macomb heretofore has been a Country Training School, 
located in a true farm environment about two miles from the 
normal school. The teacher put in charge of this school 
was an actual country teacher, selected from the rank and 
file of country teachers, though an eager student of country 
school progress and rural social conditions. Under such 
practical leadership, and the scientific direction of the head 
of the Department of Education in the normal school, this 
experiment in the three years of its continuation reached per- 





Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal 
School — Before Improvement 



2 68 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

haps the fullest development of the country training school 
idea thus far worked out. 

The guiding motive throughout the undertaking was that 
of actual possibility. To insure this practicability three pre- 
cautions were taken. The school selected was a typical country 
school, with the natural environment and all the difficulties 
of the ordinary country school ; the teacher was a real coun- 
try teacher, transferred from another country school of the 
state; and the normal school gave no financial support to the 
undertaking, except to pay the salary of the teacher. Con- 
cisely summarized, the purposes underlying the establishment 
of the Country Training School at Macomb may be stated 
thus: 

i. To remake a typically needy school as a demonstration 
of possibility. 

2. To show how a country school may be made a social 
center for its community, and an energizing force for country 
life progress. 

3. To furnish a training or practice school for country 
teachers, where they might actually try out the theory given 
them in a country, rather than a graded, school. 

4. To serve as an experiment station in rural education and 
provide an opportunity for working out a country school 
curriculum. 

5. To furnish an opportunity for the departments of the 
normal school to study the needs of country schools at first 
hand. 

6. To stimulate and develop state-wide interest in the solu- 
tion of the country school problem and in all educational and 
social movements affecting its solution. 

The school selected as the scene of this endeavor was an 
ordinary box-car building with one room and a small hall 
protruding in front. The paper was old and dingy; the 
blackboards cracked and useless ; the plaster missing in spots ; 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 269 

the window panes broken and paper-patched; the seats old 
and double, and elaborately decorated with "the jack-knife's 
carved initial." The stove, red and un jacketed, stood in the 
middle of the room. The chimney above was braced by a 
wooden support from the floor. There was an old organ, but 
no library. The teacher's first work was sweeping cobwebs, 
scrubbing floors, and polishing the stove. The yard was 
large and roomy and well shaded, but marred in front by the 
presence of the usual dilapidated coal house. The outbuild- 
ings were mere shells, disgracefully open and scant of boards. 
The children as a whole were typically average, too. There 
had been no evident attempt at grading, and there was but 
small appreciation of the value of daily school work and less 
of the school as a functional source of growth in community 
life. 

In attacking these conditions the work of the school was 
organized under five heads : 

1. The problem of the physical environment, or the im- 
provement of buildings and grounds. 

2. The problem of the social environment — that is, of 
making the school a center of community service and a 
source of growth for social and intellectual betterment. 

3. The problem of instruction and of the development of 
a curriculum adapted to the actual life needs of country chil- 
dren. 

4. The problem of administration, making possible through 
improved organization and management the solution of the 
other problems named. 

5. The problem of the training of teachers for country 
schools, providing an opportunity for both observation and 
participant teaching. 

In the campaign of improvement immediately started, atten- 
tion was first directed to the physical environment of the 
school. It was soon decided to build two new outbuildings, 



2jo COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

to move and turn the school building, construct a basement, 
and put in a furnace. The interior was then remodeled and 
redecorated, a bay window and window seat being added to 
close the end of the building left open by the removal of the 
hall. New seats, a clock, a bookcase, work benches, primary 
chairs and tables, curtains, hall linoleum, rugs, pictures, and 
a piano and a telephone were later added to the influence of 
the room. In the meantime the yard came in for a share of 
metamorphosis. Trees were set out, shrubs, vines, and flowers 
planted, a strawberry bed started, and a garden and a corn 
plot laid out. After some necessary grading, the lawn was 
well seeded and a lawn mower provided with which to keep it 
trimmed. A new fence and cement walks, the pride and 
achievement of the directors, were built. To these improve- 
ments was added a mail box, which with the telephone, fur- 
nished connection with the outside world and removed the 
isolation in which most country schools exist. 

The first stirrings of the social awakening which soon began 
were manifested in the unity engendered by this campaign for 
physical improvement. Early in the history of the undertak- 
ing, the people of the neighborhood had responded to a "sing" 
and had agreed to donate labor for the excavation of the base- 
ment. This was the first act of community cooperation that 
had occurred in years. But others followed in quick succes- 
sion. A parents' association was formed ; a girls' club sprang 
into being and developed with surprising enthusiasm; com- 
munity gatherings became popular; exhibits were held; local 
and even railway excursions became a reality; and school- 
house parties and athletic activities added much to the solution 
of the neighborhood recreation question, binding the young 
people of the district not only to the school but to the com- 
munity, and its life. Practically all the suggestions offered 
under the discussion of the social phase of the country teach- 
er's problem in the preceding chapter were developed and 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



271 





Country Training School of the Western Illinois State Normal 
School — After Improvement 

tested here, and the specific accounts there given refer for the 
most part to this school. The social transformation thus 
effected was declared marvelous by many who witnessed it. 
And, in truth, the loyalty and devotion of the people to their 
little country school was good to see, but there was no marvel 



2J2 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



about it, other than that of a teacher who had had proper 
training for country teaching. 

But more significant than either physical or social meta- 
morphosis was the educational reform wrought. It was the 
ideal of the teacher and of others interested in the project to 
make this school serve somewhat as an experiment station in 
rural elementary education. Not mere routine teaching but 
the development of a real country school course of study 
fitted to the needs of the local community was conceived to 
be the function of the school. In this redirection old subjects 
were first culled of their chaff and then vitalized by being 
taught in terms of daily life. Later, new courses, especially 
in agriculture, household science, and manual training, were 
introduced. Pedagogically, the teaching of the school was 
unusual in being constructive and experimental. The courses 
in agriculture, home science, and elementary rural sociology, 
described in chapter ten, for example, which were products 
of the work here, were locally adapted and constructive, not- 
withstanding their many faults. Other illustrations of this 
constructiveness were evidenced in the picture study experi- 
ment recorded in the appendix of this book, in a music appre- 
ciation course based not upon note reading and formal mechan- 
ics, but upon rhythm, spirit, and the love of music, and in the 
various ideas of community service formerly mentioned. 

To train teachers for country schools was, however, the 
avowed purpose of this school, and all the effort just nar- 
rated was undertaken especially that it might serve as a means 
to this end, and as a program, of action and suggestion for 
other country teachers. The school was extensively used for 
observation, and some participant or practice teaching was 
conducted. Only students of regular senior and junior rank 
were granted the latter privilege. Teaching in the country 
school was wholly elective on the part of students, and the 
significant fact here was its popularity, notwithstanding the 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



273 



two-mile walk thus imposed, and frequent prophecies to the 
effect that "normal school students wouldn't look at a country 
training school unless you drove them to it, anyway." 

Among country teachers, county superintendents, normal 
school presidents, and all who came in contact with it, this little 
country school helped to stimulate a new idealism of country 
teaching. The further enlargement of this idealism will be 
told in some detail in connection with the Country Teachers' 
Association of Illinois, through which it has been preserved 
and propagate'd. 

The New Spirit of Country Teachers. Notwithstanding 
legislative neglect and various other inconsiderations a new 
spirit has come upon rural education, and there is every- 
where a clear promise of the "new race of country teachers" 
which Professor Bailey of the Country Life Commission 
prophesies shall rise up among us. This change has been 
engendered by a new vision of country school service, and 
wherever such a vision is carried there is manifest the new 
spirit of the country school. 

A special agency through which this spirit has been devel- 
oped in Illinois for the last five years is the Country Teachers' 
Association of Illinois. This state-wide association is com- 
posed entirely of country teachers and others who have the 
welfare of the country school at heart and who wish to attract 
attention to its vexed problems. It was organized at the West- 
ern Illinois State Normal School in Macomb during the sum- 
mer of 1907. The charter membership numbered eighty. 
Since that time about two thousand country teachers, county 
superintendents, local school officers, and farmers, attracted 
by its doctrines, have enrolled. 

The Country Teachers' Association of Illinois stands in gen- 
eral for all phases of country life progress. Its purposes as 
set forth in the preamble of the constitution are : "To elevate 
the character and advance the interests of country teaching 



274 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

and country teachers, to increase the efficiency of country 
schools, and to make life large and lovely for the country 
child." Believing that the country school is the most direct 
and immediately influential of rural socializing agencies, this 
organization proposes to build up farm life in Illinois, by first 
increasing the efficiency of country schools and the rural 
teaching force. To further its initial purpose it seeks the 
realization of three immediate ends: I. It hopes to create a 
greater and more effective and practical interest among the 
normal schools of the state for the training of country teach- 
ers. 2. It strives to dignify country school teaching and make 
it a recognized phase of the teaching profession. 3. It pro- 
poses ultimately to effect a federation of all the rural forces 
of the state, and especially encourages the united harmony 
and effort of the school, home, farmers' institute, Grange, 
country church, and road associations. 

To this end annual Country School Conferences are held, 
through which country teachers and others are gaining a new 
understanding of country teaching. The third of these confer- 
ences, convening at the Illinois State Normal University at 
Normal in 1910, proved an eventful meeting. A special triumph 
of this conference was an evening address by Professor L. H. 
Bailey, chairman of the Country Life Commission. But the 
most significant developments of the convention were con- 
centrated in the last session through an able address upon 
the subject of rural federation, by President Kenyon L. But- 
terfield of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture. Having 
formerly conceived the mission of the country teacher as one 
of broad social leadership, and having gradually educated its 
following to this conception through its literature and con- 
ferences, the Country Teachers' Association became an excel- 
lent medium for the promulgation of the federation idea. 
Enthusiasm increased in the general discussion following this 
address until it was decided to call a special meeting during 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 275 

the ensuing year for the organization of a comprehensive, 
state-wide federation for country life. This was done in 
February, 191 1, and the Illinois Federation for Country Life 
Progress, which is further discussed in the last chapter of 
this book, came into being. From the germ of little beginnings 
has thus grown a movement designed to enlist all the forces of 
a great state in one of the greatest causes of the present age. 

A Suggestive Outline for Country School Departments in 
State Normal Schools. In concluding this discussion of the 
responsibility of the normal school for the country school, 
I shall outline what seems to me an immediately practical 
attempt for any state normal school which desires to serve the 
farmers that help to support it. In every instance it will be 
necessary to solve this problem, as all others, in terms of local 
conditions. Nevertheless, since there will naturally be much 
groping about in this work for the next few years, a few 
constructive suggestions are permissible here. 

There should be in the first place a special department of 
the normal school devoted to country school interests ; other- 
wise the work is sure to be slighted. Moreover, the present 
attitude toward country teaching demands this formal recog- 
nition. The course offered through this department had best 
be two years in length, the standard for entrance being as high 
as possible. In states where defective legislation allows wholly 
untrained young people to be certificated and to teach, how- 
ever, it will probably be necessary to accept students of ninth 
grade rank. But even for these much can be done, and done 
without necessarily "lowering the standard of scholarship" in 
the normal school. 

Contiguous with this course should be offered another, also 
of two years' duration, for graduates of the tenth grade. As 
the standard of the department rises, it should be possible to 
discard the more elementary course and supplant it by the 
advanced one, as has been done at Kalamazoo, Michigan. 



2?6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Eventually there should be introduced, also, a special advanced 
course of regular normal school rank for the preparation 
of teachers for high-salaried country schools, consolidated 
schools, normal departments in high schools, and other spe- 
cial phases of rural education. 

The basic elements of these courses should be agriculture, 
nature study, and home science, since these subjects must con- 
stitute the backbone of the redirected country school curricu- 
lum. These and other subject-matter courses should be taught 
by specialists of the normal school. Three special courses 
relating to the immediate problems of country teaching should 
be included in this curriculum, namely, country school admin- 
istration, country school method, and rural sociology. The 
first of these should deal with the physical improvement, 
organization, management, and social relationships of the 
country school. The second course should give a glimpse of 
child-study and of the principles of teaching dependent upon 
it, and should especially emphasize and illustrate the country 
school approach necessary in good country school teaching. 
In connection with this course much observation and, for 
stronger students, a little practice teaching should be offered, 
and offered under actual country school conditions. The 
course in rural sociology should follow these, giving a better 
understanding of farm life and a clearer vision of its possi- 
bilities. Suggestive outlines for the first and third of these 
courses are included in the appendix of this book. (Sections 
I and 2.) 

Serving the country school department here recommended 
should be three special workers: a general head or director, 
a country school training or critic teacher, and an extension 
worker. These instructors should be able to exchange places 
at times, each doing the work of another temporarily, so that 
all may retain a comprehensive view of the whole country 
school problem. The director should be an individual of 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 



277 



country school experience and sympathy, the best of training, 
and inspiring personality. He should have general oversight 
of the entire work of the department and should cooperate 
with other departments and instructors in adapting the whole 
country school training course to the immediate needs and 
limitations of the prospective country teachers enrolled. 




First Annual Meeting of the Country Teachers' Association of 
Illinois, Macomb, July, 1908 

A one-teacher country training school should by all means 
be maintained as an integral part of every normal country 
school department. A special characteristic of such a school 
should be its constructiveness and practicability. Without 
these it can never win the approval and cooperation of working 
country teachers. Another much-needed development of the 
country training school idea is the establishment of consoli- 



278 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

dated training schools. The consolidated country school is 
with us not only to stay but to increase a thousandfold, and 
if it is to be properly directed we must have teachers trained 
to handle its problems. In working out these consolidated 
training schools, the first step should by no means be omitted 
— that is, their creation from non-consolidated territory. This 
is the first step for country teachers in the field, and one for 
which they need much direction. 

State universities and colleges of agriculture are now ren- 
dering good service to their respective states through organ- 
ized extension work. Thousands of dollars are appropriated 
annually for this purpose. If farmers, mechanics, and engi- 
neers are to be given this great service, why not afford oppor- 
tunities equally efficient to the hundreds of struggling teachers 
who might thus be enabled to do more, both for themselves 
and for those under their charge? Investigation, however, 
reveals practically no normal schools in the country under- 
taking organized, systematic extension work. 1 In rural dis- 
tricts work of this kind is badly needed and is in great demand. 
Country school extension may be a new term, but who shall 
say it is not justified? 

In harmony with this suggestion the extension division of 
every normal country school department should be well organ- 
ized and supported. The extension worker should be a sin- 
cere and attractive speaker, thoroughly familiar with all phases 
of rural progress. A portable lantern, numerous slides, and 
perhaps a good phonograph, should constitute a part of his 
equipment. To these should be added charts, pictures, books, 
bulletins, and plans, specifications, and models of country 
school buildings and furnishings. Every country teacher and 
school director in the territory under the jurisdiction of the 

1 The Western Illinois State Normal School at Macomb is now 
developing a good system of extension work. 



THE TRAINING OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 279 

normal school should feel affiliated with its rural department. 
In realizing this end the assistance of the extension worker 
will be found a chief factor. A formal organization or asso- 
ciation among working country teachers will also further 
this feeling of cooperation and tend to increase the efficiency 
and service of the extension division. As one phase of its 
endeavor this organization may well stimulate the constructive 
attack of individual local problems among working country 
teachers somewhat after the manner of the Country School 
Department of the Illinois State Normal University. 

Adequate plans should be devised by the director and other 
officers of this department for meeting the needs of farmers 
and country teachers as they arise. The rooms and office of 
the department should be sufficiently large to display a per- 
manent exhibit of country school buildings, grounds, and 
equipment, and of books, bulletins, and educational helps, for 
the students of the department and for visiting directors and 
teachers. The office should also become a bureau of infor- 
mation to which teachers and directors may write for assist- 
ance. Under the direction of the extension department and 
through this bureau of information, monthly bulletins relat- 
ing to country school problems should be issued to all rural 
teachers in the territory of the normal school. Wisely planned 
and carefully executed consolidation campaigns should be 
undertaken by the department in conjunction with the teachers 
and people of various communities. 

Still another significant relationship of the efficient normal 
country school department should be its responsibility to 
county superintendents. For these much neglected and over- 
worked servants of education, frequent conferences of en- 
couragement and suggestion should be provided, and special 
summer courses should be offered. In cooperation with 
county superintendents one or more county observation 
schools may also be developed in each county. Meanwhile, to 



2 8o COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

crystallize all this effort, annual country school conferences 
and exhibits should be held under the auspices of the normal 
school as a summary of the work of the department for each 
year. 

The great need of special normal school departments for 
the training of country teachers is rapidly growing to a 
demand which must soon be met. No one appreciates this 
better than normal school presidents, by whom the issue has 
been frequently discussed. A serious detriment to the best 
development of such departments at present, however, is the 
scarcity of well-trained men and women to act as directors 
for them, and the absence of institutions where proper train- 
ing of this type may be acquired. Meanwhile attention must 
be concentrated on the larger and more immediate issue of 
providing special training for local country teachers. 

Trained Teachers Not the Only Need for Solving the 
Country School Problem. In conclusion, let one additional 
thought be emphasized. The crucial need for country schools 
is specially and well-trained teachers. But even trained 
teachers are human and can adequately perform but a small 
part of the work required by a daily program registering from 
six to eight grades. They alone can never solve the country 
school problem. In fact, the problem cannot be adequately 
solved until the fundamental need, the change from the one- 
teacher to the consolidated system, has been attained. With 
this change, and in no other way, will come the final adjust- 
ment of difficulties. But the very process of this conversion 
is a matter of education which must be wrought largely 
through the leadership of efficient teachers. Thus the issue 
returns to the original contention, herein set forth, and pro- 
claims the necessity and advent of "a new race of country 
teachers,'' who shall rise up and function as the most imme- 
diate factor in the solution of the American farm problem. 



CHAPTER XII 
COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 

Importance of Country School Supervision. No phase of 
country school improvement is more urgent and significant 
than that of supervision. This, at least, is the consensus of 
opinion among educators and all others qualified to analyze 
the question. 

Consolidation, in its best form, has been advocated through- 
out this book as the only adequate solution of the country 
school problem. But before consolidation becomes general, 
we must have virile educational leaders to reveal its advan- 
tages to farmers and others ; and rural supervisors, or county 
superintendents, may fulfill this office most effectively. This 
they can do even better in some ways than country teachers, 
because better placed and usually better prepared for leader- 
ship than teachers. The good country teacher must become 
a local community leader, but the efficient county superintend- 
ent by the very nature of his position is not only a leader of 
the people, but a leader of leaders. Thus it is evident that 
supervision might easily be made the immediate point of 
attack upon the whole problem of country school improve- 
ment and rural life progress. 

Difficulties. But instead of being so considered and built 
up as a profession, country school supervision has been shame- 
fully neglected, until the whole system is beset with prac- 
tically insurmountable difficulties. These difficulties, like those 
of the country teacher, are literally too numerous to name. 
The following classification is probably not complete, but it 
will reveal at least enough encumbrances to show something 

281 



282 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

of the seriousness of the existing situation. Among these 
handicaps to efficient supervision are : 

i. Difficulties arising from the status of the rural teaching 
force. Three aspects of this trouble should be considered, 
namely: (a) that country teachers are largely untrained and 
transient; (b) that each supervisor has far too many teachers 
to direct; and (c) that these numerous untrained workers 
are not even centrally located where they can be visited fre- 
quently, but are scattered over great tracts of open country 
connected usually by earth roads which are as often impassable 
as passable. 

Only those who have been engaged in the work of super- 
vision can appreciate the amount of time necessary for its 
proper execution, even when teachers are partially trained, 
but when wholly untrained teachers are to be considered, as 
is practically the case in most rural counties, the problem 
becomes far more complicated. It must be reflected, too, that 
the rural supervisor is not dealing with just a few cases, to 
each of whom he may devote a large share of time, but with 
two or three hundred perhaps. In Wisconsin, which may be 
selected as a typical state, each county superintendent on the 
average supervises the work of 136 teachers and 4,250 chil- 
dren, covering an average territory of 700 square miles. In 
Illinois, the average number to each supervisor is 113 teachers 
and 8,000 children, with a territory of 555 square miles. Add 
to this the fact that this large body of insufficiently trained 
workers is transient, and that for economic reasons and others, 
the great majority of country teachers migrate annually, thus 
necessitating constant instability and readjustment, and some- 
thing of the seriousness of the rural supervisor's predicament 
begins to be realized. 

2. Difficulties arising from the limitations and defects of 
the country school system. These include all the difficulties of 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



283 



country school teaching that have been set forth in earlier 
chapters, and that are met with on every hand in the actual 
experiences of the schoolroom. The perplexities of the coun- 
try teacher are generally acknowledged, but the county super- 
intendent in assisting his teachers must face all their diffi- 
culties and still others beside. When making his annual, or 
semi-annual, calls, and at any other hour of the day or year, 




Full of Difficulties for the County Superintendent 



the rural supervisor must be prepared to consider all the ac- 
cumulated troubles of his teachers and to meet not only ques- 
tions of teaching method and school management, but fre- 
quently boarding-place dilemmas and issues of neighborhood 
feud. 

3. Difficulties arising from ignorance and neglect on the 
part of school officers and patrons. These in many com- 
munities demand much attention. The average school officer, 



284 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

though a well-meaning individual, seldom knows much of legal 
routine, and is almost certain, either through inability or negli- 
gence, to become involved in complications taxing the time 
and attention of the supervisor. Only superintendents know 
how difficult it is to collect accurately the little data and few 
reports required of directors. But even worse than this is 
the common inertia and unprogressiveness, not only of school 
officers but of people generally, against which county super- 
intendents must struggle unceasingly and from which fre- 
quently arise prejudice, antagonism, and a misunderstanding 
of all educational reform. 

4. Difficulties arising from the present general system of 
rural supervision. These are the most severe and discour- 
aging of all. Moreover, they are the most inexcusable, be- 
cause the most unnecessary. These difficulties may be grouped 
under three heads : political hindrances, insufficient financial 
compensation, and too much work. In this three-fold sum- 
mary of annoyance is expressed the very heart and source 
of the rural supervisor's distress. Herein also lies the explana- 
tion of the fact that after fifty or more years of such work, 
we still have no profession of country school supervision. 
Of all hindrances of the rural supervisory system, none is 
more productive of evil than its connection with politics. 
More will be said later of this and of the question of financial 
compensation. Suffice it to state here that politics frequently 
puts inefficient men into the system, and at best inconveniences 
good superintendents. 

Nothing, however, could be more discouraging than the 
multitudinous duties of the county superintendent. In most 
states, legislatures for the past twenty years have constantly 
increased the duties of county superintendents without pro- 
portionately increasing their salaries or providing sufficient 
assistance. It has been carefully estimated by one who knows, 
that the work expected of the average county superintendent, 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 285 

if well executed, would keep at least five capable men em- 
ployed! And yet it is only under the greatest pressure that 
an assistant is provided, and then usually but one is supplied. 
It should be remembered, too, that even before the county 
superintendent can get out in the field to attack his problems, 
at least two large reductions must be made from his avail- 
able time and energy. The first of these is the deduction 
necessary for the clerical work of his office. This consumes 
weeks that are needed for actual supervision and educational 
leadership. So great, in fact, is this drain that the average 
rural supervisor can seldom spend more than three or four 
months of the year actively engaged in the real work for which 
he is employed. Some day farmers will appreciate perhaps 
that it is poor economy to make janitors of teachers and 
clerks of superintendents, but as yet even this small percent- 
age of time must be again reduced by subtracting the hours 
consumed in driving from one school to another. In one large 
county of Illinois, exclusive of railroad and interurban travel, 
the county superintendent finds it necessary to drive 762 miles 
in visiting each of his schools once. This means that when 
traveling twenty-five miles a day, an average he can by no 
means always maintain over earth roads, he must spend at 
least thirty days a year in merely reaching the scenes where 
his professional work is to begin. 

5. Difficulties arising through the lack of special training 
on the part of county superintendents. To all these numerous 
difficulties of rural supervision must finally be added those 
arising through the lack of special training on the part of 
superintendents. These are so buried among the more obvious 
hindrances of the system that they are seldom considered, 
but when the latter are sufficiently cleared away to make 
room for professional considerations, superintendents them- 
selves are the first to see and acknowledge the necessity of 
such preparation. Clearly no one could need the advantages 



286 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



accruing from special training more than the rural super- 
visor, who has to meet not only all the special problems of 
pedagogy, psychology, and child nature that confront any 
supervisor, but many others besides. Yet the only special 
training now possible for county superintendents is that ac- 
quired in the grim school of experience. No normal school 
or educational institution in the United States, so far as the 
writer has been able to determine, yet provides a department 
for work of this type. Some institutions are beginning to 
appreciate the new demand in this direction, however, and 
within a few years the county superintendents may probably 
obtain as expert instruction as is now available for city super- 
intendents. 

Systems of Rural Supervision Employed in the United 
States. Three different systems of country school super- 
vision are employed 
throughout the United 
States. These may be 
designated as the town- 
ship system, the large dis- 
trict system, and the 
county system. 

The New England 
States, with their cus- 
tomary emphasis upon the 
town, or township, as a 
political unit, naturally 
originated the township 
system which is univer- 
sally employed through- 
out this section except in Vermont. Ohio, also, employs 
this plan. Under this system provision is made for the 
union of several townships which desire to avail themselves 
of the privilege of supervision. The township school au- 




Manual Training in Whatcom 
County, Washington . 



An example of the efficient leadership of 
County Superintendent Mary Carpenter 
of Bellingham 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 287 

thorities assume the initiative in entering a union and employ 
their superintendents wholly upon considerations of profes- 
sional ability, just as teachers and city superintendents are pre- 
sumably selected. Those employed need not be natives of the 
township, and may retain their positions indefinitely. The 
system thus scores the tremendous advantage of being free 
from political bias and makes possible the development of a 
regular profession of supervisors who can give the small towns 
and country schools of the state the same expert attention as 
that secured by large cities. 

The large district system of supervision is practiced in 
New York, Louisiana, Virginia, and Nevada. In each of 
these states the supervisory districts are not co-extensive with 
counties, being sometimes larger and sometimes smaller. 
Louisiana, retaining the influence of its early church organ- 
ization, is divided into parishes, and hence has parish super- 
intendents. New York and Virginia are divided into nu- 
merous districts practically equivalent but not coincident with 
their counties, while the state of Nevada has recently abol- 
ished the office of the county supervisor and divided its 
territory into five large districts, supervised by five deputy 
state superintendents. 

The county system of supervision, employing the county 
as a- unit of school organization, prevails most generally in 
the United States, being followed in .thirty-nine states and 
two territories. In these states the county educational officer 
is known either as the county superintendent or county com- 
missioner, but will be referred to throughout the remainder 
of this discussion as the county superintendent. The county 
system of supervision will also be the system in mind in 
making deductions and generalizations. 

Methods of Selecting County Superintendents. The dif- 
ferent methods of selecting county superintendents are even 
more numerous than the systems of districting, and in their 



288 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

variation clearly indicate a general dissatisfaction and de- 
sire for improvement. In all, there are six ways, two of which 
are appointive and four elective. Selection by appointment 
prevails in Delaware, Vermont, New Jersey, and Virginia. 
In the two states first named appointments are made by the 
governor and state superintendent; in the last two by the 
state board of education. Selection by election prevails most 
generally. In the great majority of instances, twenty-seven 
states and two territories, county superintendents are elected 
by direct vote of the people. At least they are supposed to 
be so chosen if party favor and political machines can be dis- 
regarded. Two states, Indiana and Pennsylvania, elect their 
county superintendents by the vote of school directors. In 
Pennsylvania this is done triennially, at the time of the annual 
directors' meeting. In Indiana the school system provides 
for the election of but one school official, or school trustee, 
in each township, and these trustees assembled in county 
convention, elect the county superintendent for a term of 
four years. Three states — Louisiana, North Carolina, and 
Maryland — provide small county boards of education whose 
chief duty is the selection of an efficient county superin- 
tendent, and one state, Tennessee, trusts the county court 
to choose its school supervisors. 

Qualifications Required of County Superintendents. 
Only twenty-three states require educational qualifications for 
county superintendents, and in these the requirements are 
low, being usually but the possession of a first-grade certifi- 
cate. Thirteen states demand no special qualification what- 
ever for this office. Veterinaries and road-makers must meet 
certain stipulations, but the county superintendency, possibly 
the most important office in the educational system, may be 
filled utterly regardless of special fitness ! To be sure, public 
opinion always dictates a certain standard of efficiency even 
in states making no legal requirements, but exceptions are 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 289 

possible, and not a few exist. Moreover, legislation should 
certainly keep better pace with the best interests of education. 

Of the states demanding special qualifications for county 
superintendents, New Jersey, which requires a state certifi- 
cate, and North Dakota, which requires superintendents in 
counties of the first class to hold a state certificate or to be 
graduates of a reputable normal school or higher institution 
of learning, may be cited as examples of the rapid advance 
now being made annually in the improvement of rural school 
supervision. Indiana requires that superintendents shall hold 
a thirty-six months' state license, a life license, or a profes- 
sional license. In Wisconsin, rural supervisors are required 
among other qualifications to hold a special county super- 
intendent's certificate. This seems to be the only instance 
in any state where special supervisory ability is required. 
Other states stipulating especially high qualifications ' for 
county superintendents are Pennsylvania, Michigan, and 
Delaware. 

Increasing the Efficiency of the County Superintendency. 
Improving the system. At least two large tasks must be 
accomplished before any adequate solution of the problem 
of country school supervision can be realized. The first of 
these is the improvement of the system. The initial step in 
this attempt must be some scheme for decreasing the amount 
of work now expected of the county superintendent. A be- 
ginning in this direction has been made in many counties by 
the employment of clerks and assistants, which is good in so 
far as it goes, but deficient in that not enough assistants are 
furnished. Few counties allow more than one when a half 
dozen could be well occupied. Several counties in the more 
densely populated sections of the eastern states, however — 
notably Baltimore County, Maryland — have developed a sug- 
gestive scheme bearing upon this point, by which special 
supervisors, as of manual training, music, and primary work, 



290 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



are employed for the benefit of all rural, suburban, and vil- 
lage schools. A still better solution for western and southern 
states, where the unit. of county organization, though incon- 
veniently large, cannot be advisably disregarded, would be to 
section the counties into supervisory districts under the direc- 
tion of assistant superintendents who are responsible to the 
county superintendent. Such a plan embodies all the advan- 
tages of small district supervision and still conforms to the 
present political organization. 

When the amount of work required of county superintend- 
ents is reduced, another improvement of the system may be 
realized through the possibility of demanding higher qualifica- 
tions and better work. Business men realize the necessity 
of reducing quantity when quality is desired, and the same 
principle applies with equal force to the work of the county 
superintendent. It is utterly useless to attempt to exact expert 
supervision even of well trained men, while they are as 
deeply buried under multitudinous duties as is the average 
county superintendent at present. And it is to be hoped that 
legislators will soon see the folly of such exaction and strike 
at the heart of the present difficulty, not by uselessly multi- 
plying duties that cannot be adequately discharged, but by 
taking legal steps for the remodeling of the system. 

Establishing a profession of county superintendents. The 
second step necessary to the acquirement of an efficient sys- 
tem of rural supervision is the establishment of a profession 
of county superintendents. This, only, will enable efficient 
men and women to stay in the work permanently, and to 
acquire special training for it. But before this desired "sta- 
bility of status" can be insured, two underlying factors must 
be adjusted. First, the present scale of salaries must be 
increased; and second, the office of the county superin- 
tendency must be divorced from politics. 

The salaries of county superintendents in the United States 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



291 



vary from less than $100 to $5,000, the latter, of course, being 
exceptional and found only in the counties containing great 
cities. The highest regular salaries- for this service are paid 
in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, where the annual compen- 
sation for county superintendents runs from two to three thou- 
sand dollars. The majority of states are better represented by 
Illinois, where the average salary is $1,500 for county super- 
intendents, or by Wisconsin, where the average compensation 




County Superintendent Jessie Field, Page County, Iowa 

The automobile shown was won by Page County for its display of school work 
at the National Corn Exposition in 1909 



is but $970, from which traveling and campaign expenses must 
be deducted. The inadequacy of the aggregate sum spent for 
rural supervision in most states is well illustrated again by 
Wisconsin, in which the largest city, Milwaukee, with an en- 
rollment of 39,000 elementary school children, expends 



292 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



annually about $130,000 for school supervision, while the 
state at large, exclusive of the cities having city superintend- 
ents, expends only $71,000 for a school population of 320,000. 
Here, as in other instances, it is evident that the money ques- 
tion is at the heart of the difficulty. Of this farmers must 
soon become conscious and. realize that adjustment lies largely 
in their hands. 

The removal of political influence. But even more detri- 
mental than economic considerations is the uncertain tenure 
of office occasioned among county superintendents by political 
selection. The zvhole plan of subjecting educational matters 
and the welfare of children to political upheavals is entirely 
wrong. What difference does party adherence make in a 
man's efficiency for judging a good reading lesson, assisting 
a teacher, or organizing a school? Usually, too, the county 
superintendent must be not only a member of the predominant 
political party but a resident of the county, which still further 
decreases the efficiency of the present system by limiting the 
number of available candidates. When people desire medical 
or legal assistance, they are not restricted to the talent within 
their own town or county. Why, then, should such restric- 
tion be considered in seeking educational direction and select- 
ing school supervisors? Why should not the county superin- 
tendent, like the city superintendent, be chosen upon the basis 
of his efficiency without regard to either his place of residence 
or his political affiliation? 

Many argue that efficient superintendents are elected not- 
withstanding the evils of politics. This is quite true. In 
states demanding no qualifications, good men are commonly 
elected, as has been admitted, through the strength of public 
opinion. But public opinion is a poor guarantee of efficiency, 
especially when deflected by partisan politics and ignored in 
political trades. Moreover, the average voter too often votes 
his party ticket without further consideration. For these 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



293 



reasons, it is safe to say that the political plan of electing 
county superintendents is alzvays a detriment. 

At best only three arguments can be discovered in its favor, 
and these can be met equally well under another plan. In 
the first place, it is claimed that election by popular vote is 




Complimentary Float to Superintendent O. J. Kern of Winnebago 
County, Illinois 



democratic. But the principle of representative government, 
upon which our republic is founded, is likewise democratic, 
and the employment of county superintendents by a qualified 
educational board elected by the people would meet this re- 
quirement equally well. Again, it is argued that the political 
campaign necessitated by popular election is a good thing, in 



294 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

that it brings the county superintendent into close contact with 
the people and their needs. This undoubtedly is true, but the 
same insight can be obtained from conducting educational 
campaigns, which are certainly much needed and a far more 
legitimate expression of an educational leader's endeavor. 
Finally, it is sometimes argued that the present method, having 
been practiced in some states for the past two generations, 
is now enshrined in our political heritage and should there- 
fore be retained. But this argument is too futile, and alto- 
gether too unreasonable, to demand attack. 

Thus the election of school supervisors by popular vote is 
undesirable in every way. When the county superintendent is 
a politician, it not only entails all the evils of political machines 
and party trades, but makes political, rather than educational, 
ability the criterion of success. When he is not a politician it 
demands time and energy that should be expended in the inter- 
ests of the schools. Acceptable as this system may be in 
theory, its actual application in practice is undesirable, as all 
know who have come in contact with its workings. For this 
reason educators everywhere, and even the majority of county 
superintendents themselves, are beginning to demand that 
the office be removed as far as possible from political 
favoritism. 

The Proper Method of Selecting County Superintendents. 
One of the best systems of reorganization for this purpose is 
that of placing the employment of rural supervisors in the 
hands of a county board of education elected by the people, as 
is now done in North Carolina. This board should consist 
of from five to nine members, possessing certain stipulated 
requirements educationally. Such a plan in general meets 
with almost universal favor because in the first place it is 
democratic, allowing the people through the principle of repre- 
sentative government to select their own superintendents, but 
with fewer political difficulties and less friction and waste 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 295 

than at present. In the second place, it harmonizes with the 
political organization of all states where the county is the unit 
of state administration. And in the third place, it lends per- 
manency to the office of the county superintendency by remov- 
ing it from direct political uncertainty and making possible the 
development of a well-trained profession of rural school 
supervisors. 

In application this system should further provide clerical 
help and plenty of assistants, to be employed also by the county 
board, but upon the recommendation of the county superin- 
tendent. Each county might then be subdivided into districts 
which could be directly and closely supervised by these assist- 
ants, thus insuring the close supervision practiced in New 
England and preserving meanwhile the county unit. The 
tenure of office should be at least four years, though a still 
better plan would be continuous employment during compe- 
tency and faithful service. Every school in the county should 
also be connected with the superintendent's office by telephone, 
so as to expedite communication. Under such provisions 
farmers might reasonably demand competent school supervi- 
sion, % necessity they can scarcely hope to attain under present 
conditions. 

Leadership of the County Superintendent. How badly 
this reform is needed can be appreciated only by considering 
the opportunity and responsibility of the county superin- 
tendency. Of all educational offices, none, as has been shown, 
entails greater burdens, and none, it is safe to say, bears 
greater responsibility. Of the many responsibilities incum- 
bent upon the county superintendent, two stand out especially 
as primary functions of his office. These are first, his respon- 
sibility for the proper supervision of his schools and teachers, 
and second, his responsibility for the educational leadership 
and status of his county. 

No one could do more under favorable conditions for all 



296 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

phases of rural progress than the county superintendent, since 
he is not only a leader but a leader of leaders. Even under 
present limitations no one can do more, as many superin- 
tendents are admirably demonstrating through their educa- 
tional campaigns. In Missouri such educational campaigns 
are legally required of county superintendents. In other states, 
where no requirements are enforced, many superintendents by 
giving less attention to the clerkship of their office and more 
to educational leadership, have done a great deal, notwith- 
standing their countless duties. One of the best known ex- 
amples of these instances where efficient men have made a 
small office big is Superintendent O. J. Kern's work in Winne- 
bago County, Illinois, which is described in his book, Among 
Country Schools. Another interesting record of what train- 
ing, personality, and general efficiency on the part of the 
superintendent can do for a county is shown in the leadership 
of County Superintendent Jessie Field, of Clarinda, Page 
County, Iowa. Numerous other instances of the good work of 
county superintendents might be cited here as well as numerous 
instances of their poor work. But notwithstanding the just 
cause for criticism and complaint against some, it must be 
acknowledged remarkable, considering the difficulties of the 
system, that the present good service is rendered. And in all 
criticism of county superintendents it must be remembered that 
not the men but the system is chiefly at fault. 

Inspiration and Help for County Superintendents. In- 
creased salaries. In the meantime, inspiration and help for 
county superintendents is already at hand, and much of it is 
easily available for those who care to use it. Not the least 
needed and tangible of this assistance is the recent increase 
in the scale of salaries in many states. This question of salary- 
is considered by some the most vital point in the improve- 
ment of rural supervision, though it is evident that the finan- 
cial phase will eventually adjust itself when the work once 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



297 



becomes a permanent profession demanding higher qualifica- 
tions and better preparation. One matter of financial con- 
sideration calls for special attention. This is the lack of pro- 
vision in many states for meeting the traveling expenses of 
county superintendents. Four states at least — Minnesota, Wis- 
consin, California, and New Jersey — have seen the injustice 
of this situation and now authorize counties to meet the 
expense of their superintendents. 

Assistance from state departments of education. The chief 
general sources of assistance for county superintendents are the 




School Directors' Convention, Goodhue County, Minnesota 



state departments of education. All state superintendents 
assist their county superintendents, at least personally, and in 
many states this aid is definite and well organized. Some- 
times, as in Wisconsin, Missouri, Louisiana, and North Caro- 
lina, it is provided through the employment of state rural school 
inspectors. In Wisconsin, where this office was first created, 
the inspector is appointed by the state superintendent and serves 
during efficiency and good conduct. His duties include school 
inspection, at least to an extent sufficient to make him familiar 



298 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

with conditions throughout the state; the collection and dis- 
tribution of information relating to rural schools ; and the 
conducting of educational campaigns and frequent confer- 
ences with county superintendents, teachers, and school pa- 
trons. He is thus in a position to make his influence widely 
felt and to act as a general counselor and assistant for county 
superintendents. 

Again, as in Illinois, the assistant state superintendent is 
considered the head of a special department for country 
schools and performs practically the same duties as the state 
rural school inspector. In other states, particularly in In- 
diana and Wisconsin, the state superintendent keeps in con- 
tact with his county superintendents and even with his rural 
teachers by issuing bulletins for each. Perhaps the most help- 
ful form of cooperation on the part of state and county super- 
intendents is that effected through state conferences and asso- 
ciations for county superintendents. Minnesota, Oregon, Mis- 
souri, Illinois, Washington, and North Carolina hold annual 
conventions of this type, and report great progress from them. 
In Illinois yearly conferences of county superintendents are 
held under the direction of the state superintendent at the 
various normal schools. The benefit of these conferences as 
mediums for the interchange of ideas is self-evident. 

The Chief Need. In conclusion, the effect of the growth 
of the consolidated country school system upon rural super- 
vision should be noted. Something of the meaning of this 
movement to country children, teachers and farmers has been 
shown in former chapters. Its influence upon the county 
superintendency is equally beneficial. To county superin- 
tendents the consolidated school system will mean in brief 
the disappearance of all the difficulties of supervision due 
to the inconveniences of the ungraded system, discussed in the 
earlier part of this chapter; fewer and better teachers to 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



299 



supervise ; fewer school officers to instruct ; less isolation to 
combat and fewer miles to travel ; and a more enlightened 
patronage with better school spirit. All of which is con- 
ducive to better supervision and to progress of every kind. 

In further summary of this theme, let it be repeated that 
what the country needs in the way of school supervision 
is a profession of county superintendents. But such a pro- 
fession can never arise while the system is saturated and con- 
trolled by political influence. This, to be sure, is not the only 




A Subject for School Legislation 



reform needed, but certainly so long as "political affiliation, 
political availability, place of residence, and party political 
dominance, considerations which," as Professor Ellwood P. 
Cubberly, of Stanford University, says, "have no more to 
do with a man's ability to be an educational leader than the 
church he belongs to, the age of his wife, the name of his 
baby, or the size of the shoes he wears" — so long as these 
determine the selection of county superintendents, little prog- 
ress can be expected. Partisan control is the curse of country 



300 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



school supervision, and for its correction there is but one 
cure : Take the office of the county superintendent out of 
politics — there is no other way. 

The Duty of Teachers to County Superintendents. What 
has been said in this chapter against the present system of 
rural supervision should by no means be interpreted as a criti- 
cism of county superintendents, or as a suggestion for disloyalty 
on the part of country teachers. In the experience of the 
author no servants in the educational field are upon the whole 
more earnest in their professional attitude or more courageous 
in standing for the best welfare of children than are county 
superintendents. Teachers should consider the peculiar handi- 
caps under which the county superintendent is placed, remem- 
bering, that his difficulties are even greater than their own, and 
should at all times give him their most loyal support and co- 
operation in furthering the educational welfare of the county. 
In this way only can unity and progress be maintained through- 
out the schools of the state. 

Some Other Legislative Measures Needed for Country 
Schools. Supervision is by no means the only rural 
educational reform needing legislative attention. Numerous 
other issues might receive attention here but for lack of space. 
No phase of education, in fact, demands more attention than 
legislation, since it may be considered the basis of all prog- 
ress. But in the country, at least, no phase is so much 
neglected, as is commonly illustrated by the disregard of 
statutes for compulsory education. A new awakening is com- 
ing in this matter, however, even among farmers, and the 
future promises well. 

Two measures of general agitation in this connection are 
consolidation and the township unit. By the township unit is 
meant the effort to discard the local small district and organ- 
ize all the schools of a township under one board. This plan 
wherever tried has been found less expensive, more con- 



COUNTRY SCHOOL SUPERVISION 



301 



venient, and conducive to consolidation. More laws have been 
passed on consolidation in the last ten years than upon any 
other school question. Most of this has related to transporta- 
tion. There are still several states, however — among others, 
Illinois — where no legislation for transportation is yet pro- 
vided and where an effective, determined campaign is needed 
on this question. Minnesota and Oklahoma have gone fur- 
ther and set a splendid example for the encouragement of 
consolidation by giving state aid to districts which unite. 

A few other desirable measures may be only glanced at 
here. Indiana is raising the standard of teaching by requiring 
both country and town teachers to be high school graduates 
and to have at least twelve weeks of professional training. 
Wisconsin and Minnesota now offer one hundred fifty dol- 
lars of state aid annually to all country schools meeting first 
class requirements ; and Wisconsin further provides for the 
condemnation of poor schoolhouses. Several states, notably 
Oregon and Minnesota, have lately passed effective legisla- 
tion insuring compulsory attendance on the part of country 
children. Another of the best measures in recent school legis- 
lation is that providing for county school board or directors' 
conventions. Pennsylvania, Washington, Indiana, Wisconsin, 
and Minnesota are among the states which have availed 
themselves of this immeasurable benefit. In most states the 
law also provides mileage and a compensation of two dollars 
per day for attendance at these meetings. In all these and 
countless other unnamed reforms is heralded the coming of 
a better day for children of the farm. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 

Character of the Movement. The Country Life Move- 
ment is essentially a movement from the ground up. It is 
not in any sense an "uplift" and is never so regarded by 
those who are a native part of it. Long before the appoint- 
ment of the Federal Commission on Country Life this move- 
ment had its beginnings in the needs and reflections of the 
men and women of the farm. Its first stirrings were occa- 
sioned largely by the necessity for economic betterment arising 
from land waste and depletion. This need soon awakened a 
desire for agricultural science, and little else has been heeded 
by farmers until lately. Recent rural developments, however, 
place strong emphasis upon the social phase of country life. 
Not the early command, "better farming," not the later dual 
injunction, "better farming and better business," but the fully 
completed mandate, "better farming, better business, and bet- 
ter living," is now its slogan. So strong is this human empha- 
sis within the last few years that practically every agricultural 
meeting that convenes, whatever its initial purpose, soon finds 
itself astray upon rural social questions; and every agency 
for country life betterment at last recognizes this phase as 
one of paramount importance. 

In no development of our national life is there now more 
widespread, general interest than in the Country Life Move- 
ment. The city office clerk dreams of a small farm as an ark 
of financial safety ; the member of the urban chamber of com- 
merce sees untold possibilities for both country and city in the 

302 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



303 



upbuilding of the soil ; while the farmer himself stands a little 
straighter and views the world even more independently than 
before. From Maine to Florida, and from Florida to Wash- 
ington, the line of greatest interest and attention follows the 
demand for an improved agriculture and better country life. 
But while of great sweep and generality, this interest is suffi- 
ciently localized to be practical. West, South, East, and 




Conference of Rural Social Workers, College of Agriculture, 
Amherst, Massachusetts 



Middle West — each section has its problems which it is solv- 
ing in terms of its own viewpoints and conditions. There is 
little imitation and no loss of individuality. This proves the 
sincerity of the movement and the wisdom of its direction. 

Some Developments of the Country Life Movement 

Work of the State College of Agriculture. — The chief 
agency in this reaction of interest back to the land has been 
the state college of agriculture. The profound influence of 



304 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



the agricultural college not only upon farm welfare but upon 
the whole philosophy of national education is quite beyond 
measure. Of the many organizations now existent within 
this field of rural service two stand out especially. The Grad- 
uate School of Agriculture 1 is a short course convening every 
other summer at one of the best state colleges of agriculture, 
which calls together the presidents and leaders of these insti- 
tutions for the exchange of professional thought. Though 
seemingly far removed from actual farmers, this school and 
the Association of Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Sta- 
tions, which meets annually for the dissemination and en- 
couragement of advanced agricultural science, in stimulating 
the fountain source of applied agriculture, in the end very 
directly affect the man behind the plow, as does everything 
connected with the state college of agriculture. 

The social side of farm life has been a second thought with 
colleges of agriculture but is now beginning to hold their 
attention. In this line the Massachusetts State College of 
Agriculture at Amherst, under the direction of President Ken- 
yon L. Butterfield, is a recognized leader. During the past 
few years this college has developed what is known as "The 
Amherst Movement." The special feature of this movement 
is a five weeks' Summer School of Agriculture and Country 
Life, closing annually with a Conference of Agricultural Edu- 
cators and Rural Social Workers. Instruction in technical 
agriculture is offered at this session, but a large proportion 
of the work relates to the sociological phases of country life. 
Courses in agricultural economics, country church welfare, 
agricultural cooperation, rural sociology, rural school prob- 
lems, and rural literature are offered. At the summer school 
of 1910 thirteen states were represented by the student body. 

1 All organizations mentioned in this chapter are listed in the rural 
progress directory of this book, with the addresses of officials from 
whom further information may be obtained. 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



305 



Influence of Machinery. Machinery has been another 
large factor in the development of the Country Life Move- 
ment. The influence of invention upon modern agriculture 
is a matter beyond the comprehension of the younger gen- 
eration of farmers for lack of contrast. The great staple 
crops, corn and wheat, are now almost thoroughly subjugated 
to the control of steam and steel. Cotton alone has remained 




The Cotton Harvester. 



unconquered throughout the years of invention since Whitney 
first devised his rude gin. But the closing decade of the 
new century has just witnessed an invention which promises 
to bring the final triumph in the conquest of the great white 
crop. This sensitive mechanism, so delicate in adjustment as 
to pass over a ripening field, gathering the fiber and leaving 
the green bolls unharmed, is the product of twenty years of 



306 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

courage and endeavor on the part of Mr. Angus Campbell, 
a machinist of Chicago. Though not yet in common use, no 
words can prophesy the revolution which this machine, if 
fully successful, is destined to inaugurate in the cotton grow- 
ing regions of the South. No single human contribution could 
do more for the development of this section. For the cotton 
harvester, like the wheat "combine," would mean not only eco- 
nomic gain and the reduction of field labor, but better schools, 
better homes, a happier people, and the basis of a new rural 
civilization. A fuller story of this remarkable invention is 
told in the World's Work for December, 1910. 

Business Organization. The high cost of living, which 
has lately provoked so much alarm and discussion, is generally 
attributed to the inadequacy of crop production. But farmers, 
economists, and all others who study the matter carefully are 
coming to agree that this international phenomena is due 
chiefly to an inefficient system of distribution rather than to 
inadequate production. For this reason the middleman ques- 
tion has become an issue of national consideration, and many 
of the leading developments of the Country Life Movement 
have come about through the desire of farmers for better 
business methods. Two great national organizations, the 
Farmers' Union and the American Society of Equity, have 
been founded upon this need. As a study in local business 
cooperation, the Hood River, Fruit Growers' Association of 
Oregon shows something of future possibilities. This organi- 
zation provides for the picking, sorting, packing, and dis- 
posal of fruit, and is said by students of agricultural economics 
to afford one of the best examples of business cooperation to 
be found among American farmers. 

Agricultural Legislation. The need for proper and ex- 
peditious agricultural legislation is another of the large prob- 
lems blocking the road to rural progress. In Denmark, where 
the farmers are also the chief lawmakers, we have a worthy 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



307 



example of the service such provision can render not only 
rural but national interests. 1 American farmers have long 
been conscious of this problem, however, and are doing much 
to correct it. Every agricultural convention that meets sets 
forth its legislative desires in unmistakable terms. Much of 
this demand is still unanswered, but here and there con- 
crete political action worthy of note is made by farmers and 
agricultural legislators. An interesting example of this out- 
growth is the Farmers' Legislative Club of Illinois. This is 
an organization formed within the state legislature for the 
legal advancement of agricultural interests. Its membership 
consists of about seventy members, many of whom are actual 
farmers. The efforts of this club are openly centered in fur- 
thering legislative measures for the benefit of agriculture, 
and its action thus far has proved highly conducive to the 
state's best welfare. 

The Country Life Movement in the South. In no section 
of the United States is the Country Life Movement charged 
with greater significance and earnestness than in the South. 
This is but proper and natural since nine-tenths of the south- 
ern population live under rural conditions. Probably the 
best known and most fundamental of these efforts is the soil 
renovation work of the late Dr. Seaman A. Knapp of the 
United States Department of Agriculture. Recognizing the 
dependence of all rural well-being upon the conservation of 
soil fertility, Dr. Knapp, through his Farmers' Cooperative 
Demonstration Work, has instituted an agricultural reform 
destined to make the South a crop producing region of un- 
dreamed wealth. This work is wholly educational in charac- 
ter and practical in operation. Under its plan government 
workers induce local farmers to till a single acre or more of 
their own land according to official directions. This acre then 

1 See an article by F. C. Howe, entitled "A Commonwealth Ruled by 
Farmers," in the Outlook 94:441-50. 



308 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 




becomes a demonstration farm and the farmer a cooperator. 
Seed is furnished him, and his name is published in the local 
papers. While the crop grows a field agent of the govern- 
ment inspects it each month. Upon the occasion of his visits 
neighbors are called in to hear what the inspector has to say. 
When the crop is harvested a full report of the yield and 
method is made in the county paper. By this time the original 
cooperating farmer has become a local leader, speaker, and 
man of note, who' cannot return to his old ways; and others 
are convinced. This splendid work has now been in opera- 
tion eight years. In the year 1909 it required the services 

of 430 agents, operated 60,000 
demonstration plots, and en- 
rolled 75,000 farmers. In the 
same year the estimated gain 
to southern agriculture was 
$4,000,000. In addition to 
this, 46,000 boys are enrolled 
in a special school phase of 
the work, formerly referred 
to. (See page 232.) 

Another leading rural move- 
ment of the South is the an- 
nual Rural Life Conference 
held since 1908 at the Uni- 
versity of Virginia. These 
gatherings call forth the best 
talent of the South, and their 
influence is already measur- 
able in a new courage and 
better living in many southern 
communities. The most difficult factor conditioning southern 
agriculture is the large negro population. Two rural move- 
ments looking to the betterment of this class may be mentioned 




§ 



Dr. Seaman A. Knapp 

Originator of the Southern Farmers' 
Cooperative Demonstration Work 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



309 



here. One of these, the Anna T. Jeanes Foundation, embodies 
a plan for the improvement of negro rural schools. A second 
effort toward the same end dealing with adult negro farmers is 
another of Dr. S. A. Knapp's successful experiments known as. 
the Farmers' Improvement Society of Texas. This organiza- 
tion is conducted along lines similar to the demonstration work 
formerly described and has as its aim the teaching of scientific 
farming and better business methods to this needy class of 
soil-tillers. 

The Country Life Movement in the East. The East, 
more especially the New England States, is another section 
awakening to a renewed interest in things agricultural. The 
notable feature of rural life progress here is its social em- 
phasis. In no other part of the country are farmers so con- 
scious of the benefits of social and economic cooperation as 
in New England. This readiness to cooperate, although un- 
doubtedly due to the pressing demands of the cities, reveals 
a high stage of agricultural advancement. The scientific 
leadership of the Massachusetts College of Agriculture in the 
analysis and direction of this social growth has been referred 
to. Another development which shows the predominance of 
this viewpoint is the New England Conference for Rural 
Progress. This conference has convened annually since 1906, 
during which time seventy different farm life organizations 
have been voted into it. From this it is evident that New 
England farmers have come to appreciate the benefits of con- 
certed action. By way of explanation it may be said, how- 
ever, that no small proportion of this unusual social leader- 
ship is due to the insight and vision of President Kenyon L. 
Butterfield, who stands in the foremost rank of rural sociolo- 
gists and for whose possession New England is to be heartily 
congratulated. 

The Country Life Movement in the West. In the Far 
West, characteristically epitomizing the native spirit of mar- 



3io 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



velous attainment, is the International Dry Farming Con- 
gress, looking particularly to the introduction of scientific 
methods of agriculture in the semi-arid sections of the United 
States and other countries. The chief interest of this con- 
gress thus far through the five years of its existence has been 
centered almost entirely upon agricultural science. But social 
issues are now being entered upon its programs, and it is 
fast becoming the nucleus of a complete country life move- 
ment for this section. The International Congress of Farm 
Women, held under the auspices of the Dry Farming Congress 
in 191 1, was a worthy recognition of the place and responsi- 
bility of women in country life development. 

The Country Life Movement in the Middle West. 
Through all this general interest in country life, there has 
not as yet grown up a voluntary federated organization of 
full national scope. This is due probably to the fact already 
pointed out, that the Country Life Movement is chiefly of 
local impetus. Its growth has been nourished in the soil and 
has not yet had sufficient time to bear fruit in national terms. 
This proper rooting is most fortunate, and great care should 
be exercised by those responsible for the development of the 
movement to prevent its injury by political exploitation or 
other blight. But in the absence and need of a central na- 
tional organization for agriculture, it is inevitable that some 
organization of lesser rank should be used as a gathering 
point. This responsibility has been temporarily thrust upon 
the National Corn Association, an organization instituted by 
corn growers and relating originally to the Middle West. The 
recent remarkable and varied development of this organiza- 
tion is for this reason peculiarly significant. 

The Fourth Annual National Corn Exposition lately held 
under the auspices of the National Corn Association in Co- 
lumbus, Ohio (February, 191 1), was much more than a 
corn show or an agricultural exposition. It was, in brief, 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



3" 



a great national country life convention attacking the prob- 
lem of rural welfare from every side. In its management 
several notes of progress were struck. One of these was the 
reduction of exploitational and entertainment features. 
Another was the emphasis on the educational side of the 
exhibits, as illustrated in the showing of the most advanced 
scientific work of thirty-seven state experiment stations. A 
third was the strong sociological tendency of the meeting, 




Rural Life Conference, University of Virginia, Charlottesville 

which culminated during the last week in a national Rural Life 
Conference, in which every phase of rural community life was 
discussed, and for which the leading rural sociologists and 
economists of the country were convened. Upon the whole, 
this last annual meeting of the Corn Association was prob- 
ably the most magnificent celebration ever conducted in honor 
of agriculture. But especially significant was its reflection 
of the need and demand of rural life workers for some demo- 
cratic organization of national scope to serve as a unifying 



312 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



center for their complete interests, social and economic, as 
well as technically agricultural. The request from this vol- 
untary organization asking Professor L. H. Bailey, ex-chair- 
man of the Country Life Commission, to appoint a new 
informal Committee on Country Life, which in the absence of 
official action might serve as a national center for country 
life interests, is unprecedented in the history of agriculture. 

International Institute of Agriculture. Crowning all this 
local, state, and national effort for country life improvement 
is an organization of international scope, which though as 
yet comparatively unknown, embodies notable possibilities. 
This is the International Institute of Agriculture, founded at 
Rome, in 1905, chiefly through the energy of an American, 
Mr. David Lubin, of Sacramento, California, and the enlisted 
cooperation of the King of Italy. Forty-eight nations orig- 
inally subscribed to this venture, and King Victor Emman- 
uel has since erected a beautiful building for the special use 
and permanent headquarters of its delegates. The large aim 
of the International Institute of Agriculture is to serve as a 
coordinating bureau of agricultural information among the 
world powers. A chief immediate purpose is to furnish in- 
formation concerning the supply of agricultural products as 
a means of realizing a better equity of distribution and prices. 
Another purpose is to foster the development of rural eco- 
nomic cooperation, and still a third aim is to direct the flood 
of immigration in the channel of its need as farm labor. 
The realization of these and various other undertakings is 
attempted largely through the study, collection, and publica- 
tion of statistical information. Mere mention of this insti- 
tute can be made here, but it is evident that immeasurable 
opportunity for good lies in its proper development. 

The Country Life Commission and Its Work. But by 
far the most influential of all recent movements for the 
redirection of American farm life has been the Federal 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



313 



Commission on Country Life. Not only was the chairman- 
ship of this body wisely bestowed, but the whole personnel 
of the committee could scarcely have been improved. In its 
membership every section of the country was represented, and 
various opinions and viewpoints were carefully balanced. The 
combination thus effected could not, and did not, fail to pro- 
duce an analysis of inestimable value to the whole American 
people, and absolutely vital to the welfare of farmers. 

No attempt need be made here to inculcate the conclusions 
of this commission. The official report prepared in clear, 
readable style is easily obtainable (see bibliography, page 389), 
and every one connected with country life should by all means 
procure a copy. Farmers, country teachers, and country min- 
isters, especially, will find it a guide and incentive to action. 
For this and and for the great good that has come of their 
labor, the farm men and women of the United States owe a 
special debt of gratitude to these men of the commission. 
That a service so vital to the well-being of half the national 
population should be hampered for a few paltry dollars, how- 
ever, or "read, ordered to lie on the table, and be printed," 
is a bit of political intrigue for which all who know the facts 
are righteously indignant. 

Needs of the Country Life Movement 

With all this expenditure of energy for rural welfare, there 
are certain needs of the Country Life Movement as a whole 
which must be regarded for its ultimate success. Four of 
these needs are: (a) concreteness ; (b) federation; (c) lead- 
ership; (d) and idealism. 

Concreteness. Any movement that proves permanent 
must become a part of the daily life of the people. This is 
especially true of those developments that pertain to the 
farm. Unless this movement for rural improvement reaches 
down and fastens its roots in the soil by helping to upbuild 



3 X 4 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



the life of the local neighborhood, it is therefore doomed to 
failure. 

Perhaps the best expression of this primal obligation is 
that conveyed by the phrase, ' 'country community building." 
The necessity for the regeneration of local country com- 
munities has been emphasized in considering the solution of 
the farm problem in Chapter I, but no reference other than 
a glance at actual conditions is necessary for conviction. All 
over the United States today, notwithstanding the popularity 
of the Country Life Movement, farmers are still moving to 
town by scores. When asked for an explanation the reply is 
unvaried: To obtain the advantages of the town which are 
not found in the country. The necessity of instituting definite 
concrete effort within the local rural community which shall 
bring these desired advantages to the very door of the farm 
is thus clearly apparent. In this way only can the tide of city 
migration be stemmed and the American farm problem solved. 

At this point let the reader consider for a moment the latent 
opportunities of the average fertile farm region for com- 
plete and highly developed living. Picture near the center 
of this territory a large and thoroughly equipped consolidated 
country school, furnishing a redirected education with a high 
school course. Include ten acres of land and the education 
of adults. Add an extra room or two or a separate building, 
in which books, bulletins, crop reports, and agricultural data 
of every description may be collected and made available for 
the use of farmers and their wives. Employ an agricultural 
secretary, 1 or "farm doctor," to consult with farmers upon the 
difficulties of their work. Or, better yet, employ as school 
principal a man of such maturity, training, and experience that 
he may act as a general educational and agricultural leader 
for the entire community. Add a prosperous country church, 

1 De Kalb County, Illinois, now employs such an agricultural secretary 
who spends his entire time in advising with farmers about their work. 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



315 



redirected so as to preach religion in terms of country life and 
genuine enough to unite all the people of the community in 
spiritual aspiration. Then introduce a true-principled grange 
or farmers' club for social, educational, and economic co- 
operation, and construct, nearby perhaps, a cooperative labor- 
plant performing the functions of creamery, laundry, cannery, 
and other burdensome labors of the home. Intersect the 
whole township in the meantime with well constructed, well 
maintained, and attractively improved highways leading back 




National Corn Exposition, Columbus, Ohio, February, 191 1 



to comfortable, modern homes, and scientifically tilled farms — 
and where might men dwell more happily? 

Underlying the success of all such efforts at local commu- 
nity building are a few general principles which may be stated 
here by way of summary. 

1. Natural centers must be employed, though it may be 
necessary to define the community. This natural center may 
be a school district, a village, a "neighborhood," or some nat- 
ural geographic land division. In level prairie states the 
whole township may well be included. 

2. Local farmer leaders must be enlisted and entrusted 
with the chief initiative and responsibility. These lay leaders 



316 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

may be stimulated by local professional leaders — that is, cler- 
gymen, teachers, and others — but not controlled by them. The 
chief mission of the professional leader, as later pointed out, 
is to awaken and encourage leadership on the part of farmers. 

3. Every individual within the community must hold the 
community ideal. More is said on this vital theme in suc- 
ceeding paragraphs under the heading of idealism. 

4. After establishing this "community ideal" — that is, a 
picture of what the community may become and of the attrac- 
tions it may possess — definite, concrete tasks must be selected 
in working toward it. Upon these the cooperative effort of the 
whole population must then be concentrated. For example, if 
good roads are needed, the whole community, every man, 
woman, and child in the population, should participate in a 
local good roads campaign. 

5. The function of each local institution, as of the church, 
school, family, and others must be defined, and definite indi- 
vidual programs of work developed for their guidance. 

6. Local forces must be federated, as shown later, to evolve 
these institutional programs of work and gain strength for 
the tasks of improvement undertaken. 

The Federation of Rural Forces. In any undertaking 
involving so many persons, so many organizations, and so 
much enthusiasm as the Country Life Movement, there is dan- 
ger of waste from the overlapping and duplication of effort. 
To prevent this a united agreement and division of labor 
among the various institutions concerned is advisable. This 
union, or working harmony, or "federation of rural social 
forces," as it has been called, is further to be desired because 
the rural problem in its complete form is so large and of so 
many phases that no one institution is capable of handling it 
alone. The advantage of a unified attack in which all points 
of view are represented is plainly apparent. 

An initial step in securing this federation of country life 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



317 



forces will be a careful division among rural social institu- 
tions of the labor necessary for progress. This will necessi- 
tate a series of broad conferences and the formulation of defi- 
nite programs of work for the various institutions involved. 
The country church, the school, the family, and the voluntary 




Country Community Exhibit 

Displayed at the second annual Country Life Conference of the Illinois 
Federation for Country Life Progress, July, 1912 

farm organization, for example, must each work out a line 
of action for its guidance, based on the scientific principles 
of social progress and modified by the presence and rights of 
other institutions. 

By far the most scientific work in rural federation thus far 
developed is that inaugurated in different places through the 



318 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

influence and thought of President Kenyon L. Butterfield of 
Massachusetts. Of these personal endeavors of President 
Butterfield's, the Rhode Island League for Rural Progress 
came first. This was organized in 1906 and is still in opera- 
tion. It enrolls all the rural social institutions of the state 
and holds annual progress conferences through which the 
responsibility and work-share of each organization is deter- 
mined. As the climax of the federative idea in New England 
stands the New England Conference for Rural Progress, 
which is mentioned in another connection earlier in this 
chapter. 

Outside New England, where rural social consciousness is 
most acute, the federative idea has had little organized appli- 
cation. A notable exception to this statement is found, how- 
ever, in the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress. In 
origin and method of organization this movement is unique. 
Federation in Illinois has been a growth from small begin- 
nings, having resulted largely through the activities of the 
Country Teachers' Association of Illinois. The organization 
of the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress involves 
three chief features — namely, an Advisory Council, a state 
Country Life Commission, and an Executive Committee. The 
Advisory Council is composed of "the heads of, or of 
duly elected delegates from the various state organizations 
enrolled." This body selects the members of the Country 
Life Commission, affording the only instance thus far in 
rural development where the people of a state have, as it 
were, provided for the appointment of their own commis- 
sion without official suggestion and direction. The chief 
service of this state commission lies in conducting inves- 
tigations of farm life, and that of the council in acting as 
a judiciary to determine the policy of the federation. There is 
thus provided a body to ascertain the truth in regard to 
rural conditions, another to consider these facts and recom- 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



319 



mend what the federation can do to relieve undesirable aspects, 
and a third to carry out these recommendations. 

The ambition cherished among the rural progress workers 
of Illinois is to make this movement sufficiently scientific and 
practical to insure the best success, and to serve as a sug- 
gestive method of procedure for other states. To this end 
a carefully considered platform of things advocated was 
adopted at the time of organization, together with the motto, 
"Country Community Building/' which summarizes in a sin- 
gle phrase the fundamental purpose of the federation and 
gives the keynote of its work. Not large generalities and 
exuberant enthusiasm, but the accomplishment of definite, 
concrete tasks in the local country community, is the check 
which the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress pro- 
poses to put upon city migration and the Illinois tenancy 
problem. Through the platform of principles referred to, 
this organization advocates the following measures : 

1. Local country community building. 

2. The federation of all the rural forces of Illinois in one 
big united effort for the betterment of country life. 

j. The development of institutional programs of action 
for all rural social agencies. This means a program of work 
for the school, another for the church, another for the farmers' 
institute, and so forth. 

4. The stimulation of farmer leadership in the country 
community. 

5. The increase and improvement of professional leader- 
ship among country teachers, ministers, and all others who 
serve the rural community in offices of educational direction. 

6. The perpetuation among all the people of country com- 
munities of a definite community ideal, and the concentrated 
effort of the whole community in concrete tasks looking toward 
the realization of this ideal. 

7. The recognition of the country school as the imme- 



320 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



diate initiator of progress in the average rural community of 
Illinois. 

8. The study and investigation of country life facts and 
conditions. 

p. The holding of annual country life conferences. 

10. The protection of this federation and of all country 
life from every form of exploitation. 

The first of the annual Country Life Conferences provided 
for in this platform was held at Normal, Illinois, July 13, 14, 
15, 191 1. This conference, like other features of the Illinois 
Federation, consistently emphasized the upbuilding of the 
local farm community. The entire program, with the excep- 
tion of two numbers, was in the hands of Illinoisians, and the 
meeting was in every sense a getting-together conference. A 
special feature was a Country Community Exhibit, showing 
graphically the work of various local, state, and national 
organizations and institutions of country life. 

The little formal federation so far accomplished in this 
redirected movement toward the farm has been of local or 
state types. But in a complete organization of country life 
the federation of state agencies is not adequate. The forces 
of agriculture have national aspects, and these, also, should 
be organized and federated. To facilitate this there is need of 
a national bureau which may serve as a clearing-house for 
rural social work, and of annual or biennial national confer- 
ences in which the functions and correlation of rural institu- 
tions may be worked out. In the opinion of President Butter- 
field, Dean Bailey, Sir Horace Plunkett, and other students of 
our rural social situation, this Federal Bureau of Country Life 
should be designed to meet all the needs of farm life, the 
social and economic, as well as the technically agricultural, 
which are now so well handled by the Department of Agricul- 
ture. One effort of the bureau should be the collection of accu- 
rate facts and local data pertaining to farm life. Without this 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 



321 



information, nothing scientific can be done in the way of 
improvement ; in fact, much of the failure of past rural under- 
takings can be traced to the propensity to rely upon hearsay 
and prejudice in the absence of definite data. A second effort 
should then be the publicity and extension work necessary 
to get these facts before the public ; and a third line of work 
should relate to the federation and guidance of the national 
interests and aspects of agriculture, as formerly suggested. 




The Poetry of Country Life 

Every life has its prose and poetry. In 
this country life is no exception 

But whatever its plan, it is clear that such a bureau would 
further farm life development at great strides and that through 
its establishment organized campaigns for rural progress of 
unrealized proportions and influence would be possible. 

Leadership. As pointed out by the Country Life Commis- 
sion, all this work in rural redirection will demand much lead- 
ership. In no field are leaders more needed. For some time 
to come there will be a task for every individual who aspires 



322 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

to it, especially since such aspiration in the rural commu- 
nity is pretty sure to be accompanied by peculiar trials and 
tribulations. 

Rural leadership may be considered as of two kinds — local 
and large. By large leadership is meant the particular direc- 
tion of affairs in state and national government that shall 
work for better equity and justice toward farmers. The con- 
tention here is not for agricultural class privileges. Special 
privilege of many kinds is already proving dangerous to our 
national democracy, and farmers must, and do, for the most 
part, fully recognize this truth. The facts of the case, how- 
ever, are that the inherent rights of land owners, for one 
reason and another, have been much over-ridden. There is 
need for agricultural statesmen of insight and vision, who 
will see the necessity of remedying these discrepancies of the 
law, and, in response to this vision, will serve not only the 
forces of agriculture but all national forces. 

But great as is this need for what has been termed large 
leadership in agriculture, opportunities for local effort are 
even more significant and plentiful. Local leadership within 
the farm community is of two types — lay and professional. 
By professional leaders in this connection are meant those 
who serve the country community in offices of educational 
direction, as teachers and ministers. The men and women 
now in this field carry a tremendous responsibility just at 
this juncture of national development. Into their hands for 
the next decade is entrusted the perpetuation of influences 
which shall send young people of the farms cityward or hold 
them countryward. This type of local rural leadership is 
thus a great resource for the conservation of country life. 

But professional leadership, in the last analysis, is but a 
means to an end, and this proper end is the development of 
lay, or farmer, leadership. The country teacher, to illustrate, 
should become a leader, but if this leadership ends with itself 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 323 

it will be a detriment, rather than a benefit, to the community, 
because it will have taught the people dependence, whereas 
independence and initiative are the results desired. What the 
true-visioned teacher, or other professional leader does, is to 
submerge his own individuality and through suggestion and 
stimulation, foster the latent possibilities of the men, women, 
and young people of the farm community, and send them to 
the front as guides and directors. This is true leadership 
and the only kind implied here by the use of the term. 

Idealism. To be permanent, the movement for country life 
improvement must establish a satisfying type of life upon the 
land ; that is, a life economically, socially, and spiritually com- 
fortable. It is sometimes assumed that economic satisfaction 
alone will prove sufficient; but this hypothesis has been com- 
pletely disproved by the experience of the Middle West. In 
this section the bounties of nature practically insure economic 
success, and yet rural exodus and unrest, due chiefly to social 
dissatisfaction, are as serious here as elsewhere. To be satis- 
factory life in the open country must be attractive. And to 
be attractive it must be not only economically and socially suc- 
cessful but spiritualized and idealized. 

Every life has its prose and poetry. In this country life 
is no exception. But the boy who stumbles sleepily from a 
warm bed into a zero atmosphere to feed hogs, and the girl 
who washes innumerable milk pans every day in the week, are 
not so likely to see the poetry as to feel the deadening prose 
of wearing drudgery. This idealization of country life, though 
largely a matter of emotional attitude, is, after all, but a 
process of education. It thus becomes the duty of the 
school, however small or isolated, to do its proper share in 
revealing this side of farm life and establishing its reality. 
For without this spiritualization there can be no ultimate solu- 
tion of the farm problem. Young people who do not idealize 
the life of the land will not aid in establishing a permanent 



324 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

civilization upon it. Nothing is more fundamental or more 
vital to rural welfare than an enlarged vision of the possibili- 
ties of country life. The first great task in any campaign for 
rural progress, whether of local or national proportions, is to 
establish a clearly-defined and practical ideal of what is 
possible. 

Fortunately for the school, attention is lately becoming 
focused upon this phase of its responsibility, and several 
methods of imparting this idealism are apparent. The most 
immediate and successful of these is through the redirection 
of the old subject-matter of the curriculum; that is, through 
teaching in terms of the daily experience of farm children. 
Another is through the introduction of new subject-matter 
and new courses, as agriculture, domestic science, and manual 
training. Still another unimproved opportunity for realizing 
this end through the agency of the country school lies in the 
teaching of masterpieces of poetry, music, and art, that deal 
with the idealized side of life in the country. An illustration 
or two will make this suggestion more concrete. 

In the fields of art, consider Breton's The Song of the 
Lark. Here is a portrayal of life near the beauties of the 
soil that should speak directly to the boy and girl of the 
farm. But alas ! How often are American country children 
like the French peasant girl of this picture — blind to the color 
of the life about them and deaf to its warbled lyrics, until 
inspired with a new understanding by a good teacher. 

Poetry and music offer assistance equally helpful and even 
more tangible for fostering this idealism of farm life. Pic- 
tures, poems, and songs, that portray the idealistic side of 
country life and have been found helpful through actual test 
in revealing its attractions, are given in the appendix of this 
book. (Sections 8, 9, 10.) These are not merely nature selec- 
tions. Nature appreciation is desirable for all children, but for 
country children a special appreciation of farm life in all its 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 325 

charms and vicissitudes is equally desirable. It is to this latter 
idealism that these selections contribute. 

But the country school in ministering to this highest need 
of agriculture must first absorb a new idealism on its own 
part. This it must do through the leadership of individuals 
directing it, for institutions, like stone, are vitalized only 
through the visions of men. Thus the great call is ever for 




The End of Day 

teachers — teachers of the Heart and Soul — who work for the 
joy of serving and in their service shall redirect the country 
school toward the aspiration and spirit of Dean Bailey's little 
poem: 



THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

I teach 
The earth and soil 
To them that toil, 
The hill and fen 
To common men 
That live just here; 



326 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

The plants that grow, 
The winds that blow, 
The streams that run 
In rain and sun 
Throughout the year ; 

The shop and mart, 
The craft and art, 
The men today, 
The part they play 
In humble sphere; 

And then I lead 
Through wood and mead, 
Through mold and sod, 
Out unto God — 
With love and cheer, 
I teach! 

— L. H. Bailey. 

Concluding Summary. As a final summary of the discus- 
sion of this book, let it be briefly repeated that underneath this 
stir of activity for rural progress lies a very fundamental 
problem of American national life. This problem, stated in 
simplest terms, is that of holding a standard people upon our 
farms. But this cannot be done unless country life is attract- 
ive and satisfying, an end to be attained only through the 
upbuilding of the local country community. Country commu- 
nity building, however, requires leadership and cooperation, 
both of which are matters of education. The whole issue 
therefore reverts to the question of proper education, and in 
its local aspects becomes a problem for the country school. 
But the country school itself is at present inefficient and must 
undergo a redirection before it can effectively meet the new 
responsibility being laid upon it. This redirection calls insist- 
ently for a modernized system of administration, or consolida- 
tion, but, more than all else, it calls for a new race of teachers, 



THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT 327 

who, serving in offices of local leadership, shall not only 
remake the school but vitalize and stimulate the whole com- 
munity life. This in turn demands the attention of state 
normal schools and other educational institutions, a part of 
whose duty is the preparation of such workers for rural 
communities. 

In the meantime, while this new race of country teachers 
is arising, even before it arises, others must advance from 
among the rank and file now serving, who shall see the vision 
and lead the way. Having caught the gleam and experienced 
its transforming power, these young Merlins also shall join 
the ranks of the new race. The country school and the coun- 
try teacher as regenerating forces for the new rural order — 
this is the meaning of the vision whose radiance works this 
change, and whose interpretation has been the purpose and 
contribution of these pages toward a happier and more satis- 
fying country life. 



APPENDIX 



OUTLINE OF A COURSE IN COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHING 
FOR COUNTRY TEACHERS 

Many normal schools, high schools, and other educational institutions 
are beginning to turn their attention to the preparation of country 
teachers. Since this work is new, there is everywhere a great demand 
for courses for this purpose. The course given below is by no means 
ideal, but is offered here as the product of six years' work in the 
special training of country teachers, for the assistance of those who 
may be confronting the problem from less experience. 

This book is the direct outgrowth of this course and should for this 
reason be found a useful text in its development. When so used, it 
should not be taken in straight sequence, however, but in the following 
indicated order. If this order is adopted the text of the book will be 
found to cover practically the entire work of the course. The sequence 
of the book was not made that of the course, because it was the 
intention to emphasize the sociological setting of the country school 
more strongly than would otherwise have been possible. 

PART ONE OF COURSE 

1. Improving the physical environment of the school. 

Chapter X, pages 206 to 229; Appendix, Sections 3 and 4. 

2. Socializing the school. Chapter X, pages 229 to 238. 

3. ■ Vitalizing and enriching the course of study. Chapter X, pages 239 

to 246; Appendix, Sections 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. 

4. Organization and management. Appendix, Sections 6 and 7. 

5. Consolidation and teaching the necessity of a change of system. 

Chapter VIII; and Chapter X, pages 246 to 251. 

6. Leadership of the country teacher. Chapter IX; Appendix, Sec- 

tions 13 and 14. 

329 



330 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

PART TWO OF COURSE 

I and II. Farm Problem. Chapter I. 

III. Agencies for the solution of the farm problem. 
i. Socialising institutions. 

A. Home. Chapter II. 

B. Church. Chapter III. 

C. State and government. Chapter I, page 13. 

D. Voluntary farm organisations. 

a. Grange. Chapter IV. 

b. Farmers' clubs. Chapter IV, pages 85 to 90. 

c. Farmers' institutes. Chapter V. 

d. Business organisations. Chapter XIII, page 306. 

E. School. Chapter VII and Chapter IX; Chapter VIII, page 

175; Chapter XI; Appendix, Sections 1 and 2; Chapter XII. 
2. Material means for the solution of the farm problem. 

A. The agricultural press. Chapter V. 

B. Roads. Chapter VI. 

IV. The Country Life Movement. Chapter XIII and Chapter IX. 
THE COUNTRY SCHOOL AND THE RURAL COMMUNITY 

A Course in the Problems and Management of Country Schools and 
the Study of Rural Social Agencies. Offered in the Country School 
Department of the Illinois State Normal University at Normal, Illinois. 

Introduction. The present rural situation in Illinois and elsewhere. 
General discussion of country school and community conditions based 
on the first-hand information and experience of the class. The country 
teacher as an innovator of rural progress. 

Part I. The Country Teacher's Problem and Its Attack 

The problem stated. Its attack through: 
1. Improving the physical environment of the school. 

A. The building. Characteristic defects ; their correction and 
improvement. 

a. Ventilation and heating. Necessity of; requirements of a good 

ventilating system; stoves as ventilators. Relief measures 
for the ventilation of country schools: jacketed stoves; 
mechanical systems ; furnace ventilation. 

b. Lighting. Eye-strain and neglect among country children ; 

its symptoms. Teacher's responsibility for care of the eyes. 
General principles of school room lighting. Defects in the 
lighting of country schools; their correction. 



APPENDIX 



331 



c. Interior finish and decoration. Importance of, and effect upon 

children. Typical conditions of neglect and their cause. 
Choice of color schemes for country schools. Best wall 
finishes; woodwork; wall decoration, pictures, and bulletin 
boards. 

d. Seating and furnishing. Country school seats ; defects ; cor- 

rectives. Musical instruments, library cases, work tables, 
work benches, cupboards, and other needed furniture. 

e. Plumbing, sanitation, and care. The mechanism and cost of 

plumbing for rural schools. Indoor toilets; their advan- 
tages. Sanitation of the country school room; control of 
dust. Janitor work of the country school. 

f. General rural school architecture. A study of the plans, 

building materials, and cost of model country school 

buildings. 

B. Country school grounds. Suggestive landscape plans; general 

principles of planting; what to plant and how. Care and 

construction of well, walks, and fences. Outbuildings; their 

care, sanitation, and moral influence. Summer houses, arbors, 

and arches. 

2. Socialising the country school and making it a community center. 

A. A brief analysis of existing social conditions in the average rural 

community, with a study of their causes. 

B. Ways and methods of making the country school a community 

center and of developing a cooperative social spirit in the rural 
community through its agency. 

a. Through the teacher's personal influence in the community. 

Visiting among patrons; conversation and literature intro- 
duced by the teacher. 

b. By developing the social activities of the children. Boys' and 

girls' clubs ; their values ; organization ; and work. Illus- 
trative examples studied. 

c. By making the school house a meeting place for the com- 

munity. Need of recreation among farmers. School house 
meetings: for entertainment; for earning money; and for 
community instruction and inspiration. The development 
and management of a Country Life Club or other commu- 
nity organization centering about the school. 

d. By developing a close cooperation between the home and the 

school. Parents' associations; their need; organization and 
management. Topics for discussion; available helps. 



332 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

e. By utilizing all materials and agencies at hand for awakening 
an active interest in the welfare of the school and com- 
munity. The use of the local press. Exhibits ; of children's 
work, art exhibits, industrial and agricultural exhibits. Edu- 
cational excursions; local excursions; railway excursions. 

3. Vitalising and enriching the course of study. 

A. The social efficiency aim of education. Factors determining the 

educative process. 

B. The consideration of a country school course of study dictated 

by the social-efficiency aim of education and conditioned by 
the experience of country children. 

a. Study values. The relative value of the different subjects in 

the country school curriculum. Formal and content studies. 
School subjects classified as the outgrowth of human in- 
stincts. Three- fold division of the subject-matter of the 
curriculum. 

b. The re-organization of the country school curriculum. The 

revision and redirection of old subjects; the introduction 
and selection of material for the new subjects. 

Humanistic studies. Literature, language, reading, gram- 
mar, history, music, and art in the country school; their 
relation to rural interests. 

Scientific studies. Arithmetic, geography, nature study, 
physiology and agriculture. Agriculture as the basis of the 
reorganized rural curriculum. Principles underlying the 
organization and introduction of agricultural courses for 
country schools. Sources of information and assistance for 
the teacher. 

Industrial art. Definition, content, and right to an exist- 
ence in the country school curriculum. Manual training and 
household science for country schools. The significance of 
the industrial organization of the elementary school cur- 
riculum; its effect upon old subject-matter. 

c. Elementary rural sociology for country children. The need of 

such a course; its organization, introduction, and teaching; 
available helps. 

4. Better organization and management. 

A. Organization and management of the one-teacher country school. 
a. The daily program; principles underlying its' arrangement; 
study of suggestive model programs. 



APPENDIX 333 

b. Seat-work, principles underlying its selection and teaching. 

c. Spirit and discipline. The school as a social group. Proper 

and improper punishment. Spirit desired ; how to secure it. 
Playground discipline. Indoor and outdoor games ; play days. 

d. The country school system of Illinois. Officers involved; their 

duties and powers. School revenue; legal rate; inadequacy 
of average levy in country districts; rural and urban school 
funds compared; state aid for poor districts. 

5, Consolidation and teaching the necessity of a change of system. 

The ungraded versus the graded, or consolidated, system for 
country schools. 

a. The present small district system. Its disadvantages ; its his- 

tory and development; its lack of adjustment to present 
social and economic conditions. 

b. The larger district or consolidated system. Definition and 

types of consolidation ; ideal possibilities of the system. 
History and status of the consolidation movement. Advan- 
tages of consolidation; difficulties involved; some phases of 
the question of transportation ; cost of consolidated schools ; 
the consolidated school compared with other types of rural 
high schools ; need of a country system of districting for 
consolidation ; the consolidated school as a community center. 

c. Consolidation campaigns. Method of procedure; helps and 

literature available ; a study of the school law and legal 
steps necessary to consolidate in Illinois. 

6. The local leadership of the country teacher. 

Proper interpretation of the doctrine of country teacher 
leadership ; true leadership explained ; scarcity of rural leaders 
and its effect; opportunity and advantages of the country 
teacher for community leadership ; requirements on the part 
of country teachers for leadership. The necessity of under- 
standing country life conditions and of cooperating with 
various rural social agencies. 

Part II. Country Life and the Rural Community 

I. THE AMERICAN FARM PROBLEM. 

The problem stated; its significance; cause; rural isolation and 
its effect. 

II. SOLUTION OF THE FARM PROBLEM. 

The necessity of making country life permanently satisfying; 



334 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

country community building as a means to this end; possibilities of 
the ideal country community; cooperation the keynote in community 
building ; agencies of community building ; chief functions of agencies 
defined; necessity for the federation of community forces. 

III. AGENCIES FOR THE SOLUTION OF THE FARM PROBLEM. 

I. Socialising institutions. 

A. The Home. 

The farm home as an agency for rural progress. Present 
conditions in farm homes. The improvement of farm home 
life. The home as a center of all interests. 

B. The Country Church. 

The church as an agency for rural progress. The present status 
of country churches. Recent awakening ; movements for prog- 
ress. Relation of the country teacher to the church problem. 

C. The State and Government. 

Function. Needed legislation; cause for legislative neglect of 
agricultural interests; remedy. Duties of farmers as legis- 
lators, voters, and citizens. 

D. The Voluntary Farm Organizations. 

a. The Grange. Its purpose, history, organization, and influence. 
Detailed study of a typical subordinate grange. Grange mem- 
bership for country teachers. The organization of local 
granges through the school. 

b. Farmers' clubs. Their purpose, benefit, and management. 
The study of typical local clubs. The relative efficiency of 
farmers' clubs and subordinate granges. Organizing a farmers' 
club through the school. 

c. Farmers' institutes. The history, organization, and influence 
of farmers' institutes in the United States. The present status 
of farmers 5 institutes. Progress movements ; study of sug- 
gestive types of work. Cooperation between the country school 
and the farmers' institute. 

d. Business organizations. Local organizations for buying and 
selling. Elevator and telephone companies, creameries, etc. 
The middle-man system ; its dangers ; results and checks. 

E. The Country School. 

a. The school as an agency in the solution of the farm prob- 
lem. Complete function of the country school defined ; the 
country school as a community center and initiator of rural 
progress ; its advantages to this end. 



APPENDIX 



335 



b. Needs of the country school. 

i. Consolidation re-stated as the chief fundamental need. 

2. Increased financial support and cooperation on the part of 
patrons. Some statistics of rural school expenditure; value 
received; the economic waste of the ungraded system. 

3. Trained teachers. Class of teachers available for rural 
service ; cause. The present training of country teachers ; 
in state normal schools ; in county normal schools ; in 
special-aided high schools. Future developments and provi- 
sions for the training of country teachers. Country school 
conferences and other gatherings for the inspiration and 
help of country teachers. 

4. Better supervision. Difficulties of rural supervision ; 
system of rural supervision employed in the U. S. ; in- 
creasing the efficiency of the county superintendency ; the 
necessity for its removal from political influence; the 
opportunity and responsibility of county superintendents. 
The duty of teachers to county superintendents. 

5. Improved legislation. The need of better legislation for 
country schools and of enforcing what now exists. The 
study of some special, recent, legal provisions for country 
school betterment. 

Material instruments and means for the solution of the farm 
problem. 

A. For the communication of thought : 

a. Libraries ; school and grange libraries. 

b. Telephones ; their influence upon farm life. 

c. Rural delivery of mail ; its effect upon country living. 

d. The agricultural press ; its influence ; types of rural life 
literature; a list of books, bulletins, and periodicals for farm- 
home and country-school libraries. 

B. For personal communication and transportation: 

a. Roads. The road problem. Our present road system; its 
organization and defects. Some road progress movements and 
reforms. The country school and the road problem. 

b. Rural electric lines ; their increase and effect upon country 
life; their use for the transportation of rural school children. 

c. Automobiles, and the revolution they are destined to bring 
about in rural life; use for the transportation of children to 
consolidated schools ; bearing upon the road problem. 



$$6 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

IV. THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT. 

i. Various phases and recent developments of the movement, as illus- 
trated by current meetings and organizations. 

2. The Country Life Commission and its influence. General study 

and summary of its report. 

3. Needs of the Country Life Movement. 

A. Concreteness. 

Local country community building. 

Meaning ; necessity of ; examples ; principles underlying. 

B. The federation of rural social forces. 

Meaning, history, and advantages of the federative idea. 
Developments of rural federation. 

C. Leadership. 

Kinds of rural leadership ; need of rural leaders, both local and 
large ; lay and professional rural leadership, the office of each. 
The institutional leadership of the country school in the local 
rural community. 

D. Idealism. 

Need for a new rural idealism ; the school's part in establishing a 
higher idealism in country life; how accomplished. 



II 

OUTLINE OF A COURSE IN RURAL SOCIOLOGY FOR 
COUNTRY TEACHERS 

Offered in the Country School Department of the Illinois State 
Normal University at Normal, Illinois 

The following course attempts only to give immature country 
teachers a somewhat better understanding of country life, not to 
cover the field of rural sociology in any scientific way. It is offered 
here only as a suggestion for the development of similar better courses. 
References for assignments may be selected from the bibliography of 
this book. A special term paper upon any topic related to rural social 
life is required of each student. Part of this course closely parallels 
Part II of the preceding course, and is therefore not re-stated in detail. 

Readers familiar with the literature of country life will observe my 
obligation to President K. L. Butterfield's course in his Chapters in 
Rural Progress, 



APPENDIX 337 

I. PRESENT RURAL SOCIAL CONDITIONS 

A detailed study of the Report of the Country Life Commission. 
Covering also the following topics : 
i. Social characteristics of farm life. 

A. Farm life contrasted with city life in : 

Congestion versus isolation; transportation and communication', 
specialization in vocation ; organization and leadership ; social 
consciousness ; adaptability ; satisfaction and attractiveness. 

B. Rural isolation and its effects. 

a. Upon community life: conservatism; radicalism; provincialism; 

neighborhood strife; lack of organization and cooperation; 
scarcity of leaders. 

b. Upon family life : unity, interdependence, and self-sufficiency of 

the farm family. 

c. Upon individual life : the independence and individuality of 

farmers ; habits ; temperamental tendencies ; morals ; ideals. 

C. The unrest and movement of the farm population. 

a. The movement westward — history, causes, effects. 

b. The movement cityward — general aspects, causes ; industrial 

changes ; true meaning of rural depletion ; the necessity of a 
balance of population. 

c. Present-day city migration — industrial, social, and psychological 

causes. 

d. Results of the migration of rural population. Effect upon coun- 

try ; effect upon cities; general industrial and social results, 
both good and bad. 
2. Current agricultural problems. 

A. Commensurate financial returns upon capital invested. 

The high price of land ; causes and resulting demands. Farm in- 
comes as compared with the incomes of other vocations. Neces- 
sity and methods of maintaining commensurate farm in- 
comes; various determinant factors. 

B. Economic measures for maximum crop production. 

The conservation of soil fertility ; the use of machinery ; seed selec- 
tion ; cooperative labor ; specialization in farming, necessity and 
results. 

C. Tenant farming. 

Causes; results, national and local; large versus small farms. 

D. Agricultural labor. 

Scarcity of house and field labor. Causes — social, economic, and 



338 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

industrial. Remedies : use of machinery ; cooperative labor 
plants ; increased attractiveness of farm life for laborers and all 
others. Immigration and its effect upon the rural labor problem 
and farm life in general. 

E. Agricultural business cooperation. 

Need; ideals governing; suggestive European developments in Ire- 
land and in Denmark; special difficulties of cooperation among 
American farmers ; instances of success. 

F. Exploitation of agriculture. 

Speculative holding of lands ; monopolistic control of streams ; 
wastage of forests ; restraint of trade; soil depletion. 

G. Agricultural legislation. 

Some needed measures ; need for agricultural statesmen ; farmers 
as citizens, voters, and legislators. 
H. Agricultural education. 

a. History of the movement ; development of Land Grant Colleges 

of Agriculture and of experiment stations. 

b. Kinds : in elementary schools, secondary schools, and colleges ; 

agricultural extension for adult farmers ; research and dis- 
semination work in agriculture. 

c. Needs of agricultural education : extension ; social emphasis ; 

central national bureau. 
I. Rural morality. 

Fact versus impression regarding rural morality; causes of 
immorality; correctives. 
J. Health. 

Special rural diseases ; facts concerning and extent. Sanitary con- 
ditions and neglect in country communities ; measures for im- 
provement. 
K. Rural recreation. 

Need of recreation in the country. Recreation for the young; 
recreation for adults. Rural aspects and developments of the 
recent play movement. 

II. THE FUNDAMENTAL FARM PROBLEM. 

i. The problem stated. 

2. Its significance. 

3. Cause; isolation and its effects upon country life (see above). 

4. Phases of the problem: (a) the scientific, or natural resource, aspect; 

(b) the technical, or productive, aspect; (c) the business, or ad- 
ministrative, aspect; (d) the economic, or industrial, aspect; (e) 
the social, or community, aspect. 



APPENDIX 339 

III. SOLUTION OF THE FARM PROBLEM. 

Cooperation the keynote in its solution. Fundamental sociological 
correctives involved in cooperation: (a) Education, (b) Social- 
ization, (c) Organisation, (d) Idealization. 

Community building as a factor in the solution of the farm problem, 
(a) The ideal country community, (b) Study of various local 
communities approximating this ideal, (c) Principles of local 
community building. 

IV. AGENCIES OF RURAL SOCIALIZATION AND COMMUNITY BUILDING. 

A Study of the Possibilities and Realizations of Country-Life 

Institutions and Organizations. 
Institutions. 

A. The farm home and family. 

The home as a socializing agency ; its functions defined ; present 
conditions in farm homes ; improvement ; the farm home as a 
center of interests ; the farm family as a social unit. 

B. Government. 

Function ; needs, state and national ; the larger use of local govern- 
ment in rural districts. 

C. The country church. 

As a socialization agency ; function stated ; present status ; pro- 
gressive developments ; relation of the church problem to country 
school welfare. 

D. The farmers' organization; its function. 

a. The Grange : its origin, history, organization, work, and in- 

fluence; cooperation with country school. 

b. Farmers' clubs : method of organization, influence and coopera- 

tion with school. 

c. Farmers' institutes : origin, history and organization ; present 

status and progress; cooperation with school. 

d. Farmers' economic organizations : The Farmers' Union, Ameri- 

can Society of Equity, and others ; their social influence. 

E. The school. 

a. The state college of agriculture. Its service to the local rural 

community; its development of leaders. 

b. The country school. Definition of its place and function in 

country life; (See Chapter VII this book). Fundamental 
needs : consolidation ; increased revenue ; trained teachers ; 
better supervision; improved legislation. (Develop fully as 
outlined in the preceding course, page 335.) 



340 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

2. Material instruments and means of rural socialisation. 

A. The rural press ; influence ; service ; need of social emphasis. 

B. Rural libraries ; permanent and traveling libraries ; the rural 

library as a community center. 

C. Means of communication. 

a. Roads : the road problem as a national issue ; road improve- 
ment ; the responsibility of the country school for road progress. 

b. Rural electric lines and automobiles ; their present and future 
influence. 

c. Telephones and mail delivery. 

V. THE FEDERATION OF RURAL AGENCIES AND FORCES. 

Federation defined; its necessity; history of the movement; special 
study of the Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress ; need of a 
national Bureau of Country Life, and of state and national campaigns 
for rural progress. 

VI. THE COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENT. 

Its character; recent developments; needs — concreteness, federation, 
leadership, idealism. 

Ill 

A COUNTRY TEACHER'S SCHOOLHOUSE PLAN 

Schoolhouses are usually planned by architects, directors, and 
other people who never live in them. This perhaps accounts for 
their usual inconvenience. Of all people, country teachers should 
best appreciate the demands of a good country school building. 
Yet they are seldom heard from upon this subject. The following 
plan, designed by the author, therefore claims at least the dis- 
tinction of coming from an actual country teacher and of being the 
outgrowth of direct experience. 

The General Plan. The main part of this building is 32' x 40'. 
The front projection is 18' x 20'. Room dimensions are indicated 
on the drawings. All ceilings above are 12 feet high. The base- 
ment extends 4 feet below the ground, Basement ceilings are 8 
feet high. Either wood or cement-plaster on expanded metal lath 
may be used in construction, but the latter is recommended because 
warmer and more attractive. The exterior, as planned, gives a 
bungalow effect, having broad low eaves. The walls of the exterior 
if built of cement-plaster may be gray with brown trimmings or 
green with darker green trimmings. The shingles should be 




Front Elevation 




Rear Elevation 



342 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



stained a dark green and the chimney built of native stone where- 
ever possible. If the building is constructed of lumber, tan and 
brown effects or a plain white exterior may be chosen. If the 
large basement is not desired, a small basement may be con- 
structed under the hall. When this is done a playroom of fair 
qualifications may be made in the attic of the building. 

Interior Finish and Furnishings. The wall finish as planned 
is patent plaster trowelled smooth and tinted or painted. 
The best color scheme is soft tan walls and cream ceiling, or gray 




Right Side Elevation 



green walls and pale yellow ceiling. The woodwork should be 
finished natural, and dressed with a soft dull stain that will endure 
water. The floor may be matched hard pine oiled, or soft pine 
painted. Schoolroom and workroom should be finished alike and 
connected by large rolling doors so that they may be thrown 
together for community meetings. Glass-topped swinging doors 
will permit the teacher to view both rooms at once. Slate black- 
boards four feet wide and two feet from the floor extend across 
the front and right walls of the schoolroom and along the front 



y u - 



fr\ 




3 q 



O l 



r/«5T fLOCM PLAT* 





First Floor Plan 



344 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



and left walls of the workroom. A ventilating- flue and a fireplace 
with a mantel of slight projection are placed in the center of 
the rear wall of the schoolroom, and a window seat eighteen 
inches wide, with a hinged section forming the cover of a large 
store-box, extends around the window alcove. A portable bulletin 
board made of burlap over a fitted frame hangs on the rear wall 
of the schoolroom. 

A 300 gallon pressure tank stored in the basement and filled 
by means of a hand pump makes possible the indoor toilets and 
distribution of water throughout the building. Such a system can 
be purchased from the Kewanee Water Supply Company of 
Kewanee, Illinois, or from the Leader Iron Manufacturing Com- 
pany of Decatur, Illinois, for about $250 or $300. A hot-air 
furnace heating all parts of the building adequately can be 
installed for from $100 to $175. The scheme of ventilation as 
here planned provides for the removal of foul air and furnishes 
only fresh heated air directly from outside. 

Among the furnishings suggested for this building are Napier 
matting rugs. These save nerve-wear in the schoolroom and 
are easily cleaned. Chairs will be found more convenient as reci- 
tation seats than the common long benches. In the workroom a 
sink, kitchen equipment, and primary and laboratory tables, should 
be placed. Each of these has its place in the administration of 
the school. The equipment for the play-room may be home-made 
and put in by the children. Among the furnishings for the hall 
should be a sanitary drinking fountain, a covered box for over- 
shoes, and a telephone, which with a mailbox at the gate will 
facilitate outside communication. Linoleum will make an excellent 
and attractive floor covering for the hall. 

SPECIAL POINTS OF RECOMMENDATION 

1. Most country schools are too small. This one is sufficiently 
large for work and comfort. 

2. It possesses a workroom, conveniently located on the first 
floor, for agricultural study, laboratory and kindergarten work, 
and domestic science. This one feature alone is enough to revo- 
lutionize country teaching. 

3. It affords cloak rooms for both boys and girls, and has 
clean, sanitary, indoor toilets on the first floor, surrounded by dead 
air chambers. No one thing will do as much for the morals of 




f I IL 

| PRESSURE TANK 1 JANITORS ~~7* 

W 1 1^1 3SZ f 



/<J 



BA5E.ME.NT PLAN 



Basement Plan 



346 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

country children as clean, indoor toilets. The fact that these are 
on the first floor, in a thoroughly respectable, recognized location, 
further adds to their moral influence. 

4. Sliding doors between the schoolroom and workroom make 
it possible to convert the whole main part of the building into 
one large room for community meetings. The permanent seat in 
the bay window also adds to the seating capacity. These are 
important features in the country school which is used as a social 
center for the neighborhood. 

5. The furnace, tank, fuel, stores, janitor supplies, and the 
shop, the play-room, and all other sources of dust or noise are 
relegated to the basement. This saves janitor work and nervous 
strain on the part of both teacher and children. 

6. A fair-sized play-room is provided in this plan. This room 
will prove a blessing, especially in bad weather. 

7. Running water is supplied throughout the building at 
nominal expense. The boys can do the pumping. 

8. Adequate ventilation and heating and proper lighting are 
all insured, 

9. Ample storing space is planned, a convenience not one 
country school in hundreds provides. 

10. The interior of the building is well finished and decorated. 
The exterior, also, is artistic and pleasing — an unusual point in 
country school architecture. 

11. A telephone and mailbox constitute a regular feature of 
this plan. 

12. The rooms are adequately furnished, but only the things 
necessary to good teaching are included. 

IV 

FURNISHINGS AND EQUIPMENT FOR COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

Country teachers carry far more weight in making requests for 
furniture and supplies when they can tell exactly where to get 
what they want and how much it costs. The following list is 
therefore inserted. All recommendations made here are the result 
of several years experience in the country schoolroom, and are 
entirely a matter of personal opinion and responsibility, being 
selected solely upon their adaptability to country school use. 
Catalogs may be had upon request from all companies named. 



APPENDIX 



347 



General School Equipment Directory. Any copy of the Amer- 
ican School Board Journal, published at 129 Michigan Street, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, affords an excellent directory for school 
supplies, equipment, and text-books. These lists are always up-to- 
date and thoroughly reliable. When putting in new furnishings,, 
country teachers will do well to send for a number of this journal 
and use its advertisements for reference. Single copies, 20 cents. 

Heating Plants. The Smith Ventilating Room Heater. Prices 
from $90 to $125. Manufactured by the Manuel-Smith Heating 
Company, 821 Washington Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and 
Rock Island, Illinois. Also the Waterbury Ventilating Company, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota; Buffalo, New York; or Springfield, 
Illinois. 

Furnaces. Peck-Hammond Company, Cincinnati; Lewis & 
Kitchen, Chicago; Columbus Heating and Ventilating Company, 
Columbus, Ohio. 

Blackboards. Slate is best; but among the best, cheaper substi- 
tutes are Carbonall blackboard, manufactured by the Good Prod- 
ucts Company, 1709-11 West Austin Avenue, Chicago, at 12 cents 
per square foot, and Hylo-Plate, sold at 9 cents per square foot 
by the Beckley-Cardy Company, 312 West Randolph Street, 
Chicago. 

Crayon. Nothing but dustless makes furnished by all school 
supply houses should be used. See list below, or catalog of the 
American Crayon Company, 1230 Hayes Avenue, Sandusky, Ohio. 

Erasers. Use noiseless, all-felt erasers. The Dann erasers from 
E. W. A. Rowles, 233-35 Market Street, Chicago, at 95 cents per 
dozen, and the new Atlas noiseless erasers, sold by the Beckley-Cardy 
Company at $1.25 per dozen, are good. 

Window Shades. Johnson's Window Shade Adjusters, manu- 
factured by R. R. Johnson, 161 Randolph Street, Chicago, at 60 
cents each, permit the regulation of light in country schools. 

Wall Finish. For new walls, water color, Dekarato, etc., are 
best. These can be applied over rough plaster. For old walls, 
use plain ingrain paper. Inquire of local dealers. 

Floor Finish. New floors should be oiled. For old floors, 
common floor paint is good. Inquire of local dealers. A new 
preparation, Standard Floor Dressing, is on the market. Address 
the Standard Oil Company, Chicago, for sample and price. 

Seats. Adjustable desks only should be used. Good ones can 
be secured from the American Seating Company, 215 Wabash 



348 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Avenue, Chicago. Write for catalog. Average price, $3.50 each. 

Musical Instruments. Lyon & Healy, Chicago; or the Baldwin 
Company, Chicago. 

Kindergarten Tables, Sand Tables, and Primary Chairs. Kinder- 
garten tables can be made, or purchased for from $4 to $6. Sand 
tables are much cheaper and more serviceable when home-made. 
Strong kindergarten chairs 14 inches high and useful as recitation 
seats for the whole school may be bought at about $7 per dozen. 
Investigate through catalogs of school supply houses named 
below. 

Rugs. Napier matting is recommended for schoolrooms and 
linoleum for halls. Inquire of local dealers. 

Pictures. See this appendix, Section 5. 

Library Cases. These can be made by the children, or sectional 
book cases of the Globe-Wernicke or Gunn make may be pur- 
chased from school supply companies and from local dealers. 

Maps and Globes. The Rand-McNally Company of Chicago is 
now generally acknowledged the best of map makers. The Scar- 
borough Company of Indianapolis is also good. Send for special 
literature. 

Clocks. Good eight-day clocks can be purchased for from $3 
to $5. Every school should have one. See catalogs of school 
supply houses listed below. The Big-Ben alarm clock manufac- 
tured by the Big-Ben Company at La Salle, Illinois, and sold for 
$2.50, keeps reliable time also. 

Water Tank and Sink. Every school should possess these for 
the sake of health and sanitation. Inquire of local hardware 
dealers. 

Aquaria. An aquarium makes many things possible in nature 
study. Write for information and prices to the A. Flanagan 
Company, Chicago, and other dealers. 

Scouring Powder. For windows, Bon Ami; for floors and 
woodwork, Gold Dust or Dutch Cleanser. Inquire of local grocers. 

Disinfectants. For the schoolroom, Piatt's chlorides; for out- 
buildings, ashes, fresh earth, lime, or lump copperas. Inquire of 
local druggists for copperas. 

Wringer Mops. Inquire of local dealers or address the White 
Mop Wringer Company, Fultonville, New York. Wringer number 
two made by this company at $1.50 gives excellent service. 

Lamps. Alcohol lamps are safe and well adapted to country 
school needs. Address the Alcohol Lamp & Stove Company, 



APPENDIX 



349 



Davenport, Iowa. Prices, $5 to $9. Good kerosene lamps are now 
made with mantle burners which supply an abundant white light 
much like real gas. Among these are the Harp Lamp put out by 
the Rome Heating & Lighting Company, Rome, New York, price 
$6; and the Angle Lamp from the Angle Manufacturing Company, 
159 West Twenty-fourth Street, New York, price from $1.80 up. 

Cooking Stoves. Alcohol stoves are more desirable than oil 
fixtures. Address the Alcohol Lamp & Stove Company, Daven- 
port, Iowa, for information. Prices, 60 cents, $3, $5, and up. 

Manual Training Tools. Keen Kutter tools are good. Inquire 
of local dealers. Complete equipments may be had from E. H. 
Sheldon & Company, 82 May Street, Chicago. 

Raffia. Vaughan's Seed Store, 84 Randolph Street, Chicago. 
Use easy dyes from local dealers and color at home; this is much 
cheaper. 

Clay. The National Clay Supply Company, Macomb, Illinois; 
price, $2.50 per hundred pounds. Also the White Hall Stoneware 
Company, White Hall, Illinois. It is much cheaper to order from 
special companies of this kind than from general school supply 
houses. 

Paper. Paper for drawing, mounts, booklets, and construction 
is cheaper when purchased in quantity. Get samples and catalogs 
from the Prang Educational Company, Chicago; the Milton Brad- 
ley Company, Springfield, Massachusetts; the Garden City Educa- 
tion Company, Chicago; and others. 

Primary handwork, supplies, scissors, water colors, etc. Watch 
the advertising pages of the School Arts Book for current infor- 
mation on these, and see catalogs of the Chicago companies listed 
above for paper; also, of the Thomas Charles Company, Chicago, 
and other general school supply houses. 

Colored Crayons. Crayons from local dealers at 5 cents a box; 
or crayograph from the American Crayon Company, 1230 Hayes 
Avenue, Sandusky, Ohio, at 7 cents a box. Send to this company 
for catalog of all kinds of crayons. 

Printing Outfit. A rubber stamp printing outfit for making 
primary reading charts is essential in country teaching. One may 
be purchased for $1.25 from the Atlas School Supply Company, 
and other companies. 

Books. Any book published may be purchased of A. C. 
McClurg & Company, Chicago. Discounts on orders are usually 
given to teachers. Every country teacher should keep some 



350 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

text-book and school supply catalogs on hand for reference. 
Address any of the following companies: 

SOME SCHOOL SUPPLY HOUSES AND EQUIPMENT DEALERS 

E. W. A. Rowles, 233-3$ Market Street, Chicago. 

Haney School Furniture Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

A. Flanagan Company, 338 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

Columbia School Supply Company, Indianapolis, Indiana. 

Milton Bradley Company, Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Atlas School Supply Company, Chicago. 

Beckley-Cardy Company, 312 West Randolph Street, Chicago. 

SOME SCHOOL BOOK PUBLISHERS 

The Macmillan Company, New York. 
Ginn & Company, Boston. 
Rand, McNally & Company, Chicago. 
Houghton, Mifflin & Company, Chicago. 
D. C. Heath & Company, Boston. 
Row, Peterson & Company, Chicago. 
Silver, Burdett & Company, Chicago. 
The American Book Company, Chicago. 
Scott, Foresman & Company, Boston. 

V 

EDUCATIONAL HELPS AND SOURCES FOR COUNTRY 
TEACHERS 

There are now many aids and helps at the free or inexpensive 
disposal of teachers. Country teachers are especially benefited by 
such material, but often do not know where to find it. The 
following references have therefore been prepared as a partial 
source-list for their convenience. Everything in this list without 
price attached is free. 

GEOGRAPHY HELPS 

Pictures. I. C. Hood Company, Lowell, Massachusetts. One 
cent each and cheaper. Sets of ten on various countries. Singer 
Sewing Machine Company, address nearest large town. Set of 
geography pictures free as advertisements. 

Exhibits. The following sources for exhibits are taken from the 



APPENDIX 351 

Journal of Geography, for September, 1912. The only expense for 
these exhibits is express and sometimes a nominal sum for the materials 
included. 

Wheat and Hour. — Washburn-Crosby Company, Minneapolis, Minne- 
sota; Pillsbury Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Corn and corn 
products. — Corn Products Manufacturing Company, Chicago. Silk. — 
Belding Brothers Company, New York City; Nonontuck Silk Com- 
pany, Florence, Massachusetts; Cheney Brothers, South Manchester, 
Massachusetts. Cocoa and chocolate. — Huyler's, New York City; 
Walter Baker & Company, Dorchester, Massachusetts ; Walter M. 
Lowney, Boston, Massachusetts. Cotton and by-products. — Hoosier 
Sheeting Company, Cannelton, Indiana. Wool. — Lone Star Woolen 
Mill Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Globe Woolen Company, 
Utica, New York; Thomas Oakes & Company, Bloomfield, New 
Hampshire. Cattle and meat packing. — Morris & Company, Chicago ; 
Armour & Company, Chicago. Petroleum. — Standard Oil Company, 
No. 5 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. Rubber and rubber goods. — Hartford 
Rubber Company, Hartford, Connecticut. Graphite and pencils. — 
Eberhard Faber Company, New York City. Thread. — Clark Thread 
Company, East Newark, New Jersey; The Spool Cotton Company, 
No. 80 White Street, New York. Rock salt and brine. — Diamond 
Crystal Salt Company, St. Clair, Michigan. Paper. — Butler Paper 
Company, Monroe Street, Chicago. Manila hemp and sisal. — Inter- 
national Harvester Company, Chicago ; McCormick Twine Company, 
Chicago. Spices. — Thompson, Taylor & Company, Michigan Avenue, 
Chicago. Shears. — J. Weiss & Sons,- Newark, New Jersey. 

Printed Material. Free advertising literature from various rail- 
roads and steamship lines. Select addresses from magazine adver- 
tisements. 

Outline Maps. By D. C. Ridgley of the Illinois State Normal 
University, sold in sets at 1 cent each by McKnight & McKnight, 
Normal, Illinois. Also wall outline maps at 20 cents each from the 
McKinley Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and 
Goode's outline maps (small), University of Chicago Press, 
Chicago. Price, 5 cents each. 

Wall Maps. The Scarborough Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, 
publishes a good leaflet on map equipment. Free to teachers. Get 
similar literature from the Rand-McNally Company, Chicago. 

Stereoscopic Views. The Keystone View Company, St. Louis, 
Missouri. 

Government Publications. See Circular 94, Free Publications 



352 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



of the Department of Agriculture Classified for the Use of Teach- 
ers. Address the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
Free. 

READING AND LITERATURE 

Mother Goose Melodies. For primary grades. Publisher, C. M. 
Parker, Taylorville, Illinois. One cent each. 

Parker's Penny Classics. Selected poems for all grades. Pub- 
lisher and price as above. 

Five and Ten Cent Classics. Poems, fables, etc. Educational 
Publishing Company, Chicago. 

Biographies of Great American and English Authors. Forty- 
page booklets, covering twenty-six lives. Five or more, 6 cents 
per copy; single copies, 10 cents. Publisher, C. M. Parker, Taylor- 
ville, Illinois. 

Brewer's Classics. Prose and poetry for all grades. Price per 
copy, 5 and 6 cents. The Orville T. Brewer Publishing Company, 
Auditorium Building, Chicago. Send for list. 

Riverside Literature Series. Prose and poetry classics for upper 
grades. Price, 15 cents each. Houghton, Mifflin & Company, 
Chicago. 

AGRICULTURE 

State Bulletins. Teachers should procure a list of the publica- 
tions of their state college of agriculture and select bulletins 
needed. 

Government Bulletins. Write to the Office of Experiment 
Stations, Washington, D. C, for a list of publications. 

The Story of a King and Queen. A bulletin for children by 
Cyril G. Hopkins on corn and clover rotation. College of Agri- 
culture, Urbana, Illinois; Circular No. 15. 

Corn Day Annual for the Elementary Schools of Illinois. Bulle- 
tin by the State Department of Public Instruction, Springfield, 
Illinois. 

NATURE STUDY 

Bird, Animal, and Tree Pictures. Perry Picture Company, 
Maiden, Massachusetts, and A. W. Mumford, 160 Adams Street, 
Chicago. Good large pictures, in colors. Price, 2 cents each. 

Farmers' Bulletins. Some of these deal with nature-study sub- 
jects. Send to the United States Department of Agriculture for 
list and make selections. Free. 



APPENDIX 



ARITHMETIC 



353 



Farm Arithmetic. A pamphlet of farm problems. Published by 
the Henry Field Seed Company, Clarinda, Iowa. Price, 25 cents. 

Number Games. For drill on addition, subtraction, multiplica- 
tion, division, and fractions. Cincinnati Game Company, Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. Price, 25 cents each. 

MANUAL TRAINING AND HANDWORK 

Catalogs. Many suggestions for primary handwork can be 
gathered by looking through catalogs. Send to Milton Bradley 
Company, Springfield, Massachusetts; Thomas Charles Company, 
Chicago; A. Flanagan Company, Chicago; and others. 

Outfit for Country Schools. A list of handwork materials 
needed for a country school of twelve pupils is sent out by the 
Milton Bradley Company. 

MUSIC 

Codas. Inexpensive sheets of vocal music for school use. 
Excellent material. Prices, 2 to 5 cents. Ginn & Company, Bos- 
ton, Mass. 

Song Books. Old Familiar Songs, Favorite Songs, Popular 
Songs, Songs of the Sunny South, and other collections. Price, 8 
cents each. Also Choice Songs for Intermediate Grades at 15 
cents per copy. Orville T. Brewer Publishing Company, Audi- 
torium Building, Chicago. 

General Music and Song Material. For general information on 
music literature, procure and consult catalogs of the following 
companies: 

The Clayton F. Summy Company, 220 Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 

The John Church Company, Chicago. 

The Oliver Ditson Company, Boston. 

The Orville T. Brewer Publishing Company, Auditorium Build- 
ing, Chicago. 

Silver, Burdett & Company, Chicago. 

GAMES, PLAYS, AND RECREATION 

Play Days. Pamphlet. The Field Day and Play Picnic for 
Country Children, by Myron T. Scudder. Charities Publication 
Committee, New York. Price, 10 cents. 

Singing Games. Singing Games for Children, by Mari Hofer. 
A. Flanagan Company. Price, 30 cents. 



354 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Educational Games. The Cincinnati Game Company, Cincin- 
nati, Ohio. Good for indoor recreation and seat work. Based 
upon birds, geography, poems, authors, pictures, number tables, 
etc. Prices, 25 and 35 cents. 

Outdoor Games. Play; Its Value, and Fifty Games. A book by 
Nina B. Lamkin, Macomb, 111. Price, 60 cents. Address the 
author. 

Johnson's What to Do at Recess. Ginn & Company. Price, 25 
cents. 

LECTURES AND AIDS FOR COMMUNITY WORK 

Farmers' Institute Lecture Series. Printed lectures illustrated 
with stereopticon slides; free. Farmers' Institute Specialist John 
Hamilton, Washington, D. C. Send for list. 

Mothers' Congress Speakers. Most states have federations of 
women's clubs which furnish free speakers. In Illinois, address 
Mrs. Alfred Bayliss, Macomb, for information. 

Normal School and Agricultural College Speakers. Speakers 
can usually be obtained for expenses from these institutions by a 
progressive teacher. 

Grange Lectures. State Grange masters will send organizers out 
to speak, upon request. For information, address Mr. Robert 
Eaton, Elwood, Illinois. 

Photographs, Lantern Slides, and Articles Loaned. These on 
subjects relating to farm life will be loaned free to country 
teachers and others by the Service Bureau of the International 
Harvester Company, Chicago. 

A Journal of Rural Social Progress. The Farmers' Voice, 
Bloomington, Illinois; a farm journal devoted largely to reports 
of concrete social work in country communities. Semi-monthly. 
Yearly subscription, 50 cents. 

SCHOOL ENTERTAINMENTS 

General Helps. See lists of drills, plays, decorations, etc., in 
catalogs of various companies; as, the A. Flanagan Company, 
Chicago; Atkinson, Mentzer & Grover, Chicago; Educational Pub- 
lishing Company, Chicago; and others. 

Dramas and Plays. The Dramatic Publishing Company, 258 
Dearborn Street, Chicago. Select only the best from catalog. 

Little Women and Little Men. Two wholesome plays adapted 



APPENDIX 355 

from Louisa May Alcott's books. Little, Brown & Company, 
Boston. Price, 50 cents each. 

The St. Nicholas Book of Plays and Operettas. An excellent 
collection. The Century Company, New York. Price, $1. 

New Dialogues and Plays. Three sets, for children from 5 to 10, 
from 10 to 15, and from 15 to 25. Hinds, Noble & Eldredge, 31-35 
West Fifteenth Street, New York. Based on the best literature. 

DRAWING 

Applied Art Drawing Books. By Wilhelmina Seegmiller. 
Atkinson, Mentzer & Grover, Chicago. Prices, 10 and 15 cents 
per copy. A set of eight, including one book for each grade, will 
be all a teacher needs. 

Text-books of Art Education. The Prang Educational Com- 
pany, Chicago. For each grade, 45 to 60 cents each. 

PICTURES 

Small Pictures. Perry Picture Company, Maiden, Massachu- 
setts, and G. P. Brown & Company, 38 Lovett Street, Beverley, 
Mass. Prices, x / 2 cent, 1 cent, and 5 cents. Catalog from the 
Perry Company for three 2-cent stamps. 

Large Wall Pictures. Horace K. Turner Company, Boston, 
Massachusetts; Perry Picture Company; A. W. Elson & Com- 
pany, 146 Oliver Street, Boston. Prices from 75 cents up. 

PICTURE STUDY 

Riverside Art Series. Cover lives and studies of twelve artists. 
Millet and Landseer are especially valuable for country schools. 
Houghton, Mifflin Company, 623 South Wabash Avenue, Chicago. 
Price, 50 cents each. 

Studies of Famous Pictures. Picture study leaflets. C. M. 
Parker, Taylorville, Illinois. Price, 15 cents per dozen. 

Great Artist Series. Biographies of artists. Educational Pub- 
lishing Company. Ten cents each. 

ART EXHIBITS 

Traveling art exhibits are sent out by both the Turner and 
Elson companies. See addresses above, under Pictures. Write 
for terms and information. 



356 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

LIBRARY BOOK LISTS 

Illinois Pupils' Reading Circle Lists. Contain well-revised lists 
of books for each grade. Especially prepared for country schools. 
Address, F. A. Kendall, Naperville, Illinois, for list. Free. 

Annotated List of Children's Reading. Issued by the American 
Library Association Publishing Board, I Washington Street, 
Chicago. List gives summary of each book. Price, 25 cents. 

List of Books for School Children. Bulletin from the State 
Department of Education, Lansing, Michigan. Classified by 
grades. Free. 

The Use of the School Library in the Homes and Schools of 
Illinois. Bulletin, State Department of Education, Springfield, 
Illinois. Books listed as references for different subjects through 
various grades. Free. 

MISCELLANEOUS 

Cyclopedia. A small, new, convenient, and low-priced encyclo- 
pedia is now published by D. Appleton & Company, New York 
or Chicago. Price, $18. 

Magazine Articles. Rented at small cost for use in geography, 
history, or debate. H. W. Wilson Company, 1401 University 
Avenue, S.E., Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Courses of Study. A good elementary school course may be had 
from the Western Illinois State Normal School, Macomb. Con- 
tains also useful lists of stories, poems, songs, books, and ref- 
erences for each grade. 

Post Card Projectors. Buckeye Stereopticon Company, Cleve- 
land, Ohio, or Williams, Brown & Earle, 918 Chestnut Street, 
Philadelphia. Price, $3.50 up. 

Stereopticons and Lantern Slides. An excellent portable stere- 
opticon is made by Bausch & Lomb, Rochester, New York. Price, 
$58. Lantern slides are made at reasonable prices by the Badger 
Stereopticon Company, Platteville, Wisconsin. 

Explanation of Government Publications 

No free material contains so much assistance for country teachers 
as Government publications. It is a great loss that so few teachers 
use these advantageously. Knowing that much of this disuse is 
due* to insufficient knowledge, the following brief explanation of their 
classification is made. 



APPENDIX 357 

Publications of the United States Department of Agriculture fall in 
two great classes, free and pay documents. All free bulletins are listed 
in Circular 2 of the Division of Publications, entitled Publications for 
Free Distribution, which, with all other free material, may be obtained 
by addressing the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Every 
country teacher should write for this circular and keep it in her 
possession for reference in selecting other bulletins. 

All pay publications of the national government are handled by the 
Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, and can be obtained 
from him only. Teachers should write to the Superintendent for any 
one price list. The first page of this list will then contain a list of 
all other price lists, and from this those desired may be selected and 
had for the asking. These, in turn, become catalogs from which to 
order individual bulletins. By keeping track of these two divisions, the 
free and pay publications, any country teacher thus places the great 
wealth of the whole Department of Agriculture at her command. 

Aside from this two-fold classification of government material, an- 
other organization should be understood. There are within the national 
Department of Agriculture eleven scientific bureaus : namely, weather, 
animal industry, plant industry, forest service, chemistry, soils, ento- 
mology, biological survey, statistics, experiment stations (which cover 
all agricultural education bulletins), and public roads. Each of these 
bureaus issues a publication list containing all the bulletins, both free 
and pay, that relate to its field. From the Office of Public Roads, for 
example, a road list may be obtained, listing everything put out by the 
government on roads. Country teachers should have such of these 
bureau publication lists as are found useful in their work. Care must 
be taken, since these publications scarcely meet present demands, to 
request only material that is necessary. 

Of these special lists included in the above classification, attention is 
called particularly to the farmers' bulletins, some of which should be in 
use in every country school and which are sent free upon application 
to the Secretary of Agriculture. Another publication, also free, from 
the Secretary, is Circular 94, entitled Free Publications of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, Classified for the Use of Teachers. The Official 
Report of the Country Life Commission, Document No. 705, which no 
country teacher should fail to read under any consideration, may be 
purchased of the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing 
Office, Washington, D. C, for 10 cents. 

After the general organization and service of the Department of 
Agriculture is understood, all country teachers who desire to watch its 



358 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

current publications may ask to have their names placed on the 
Monthly Mailing List. Circulars will then be forwarded monthly 
from which full information of all the publications issued may be 
obtained. 

VI 
A WORKABLE COUNTRY SCHOOL PROGRAM 

No problem of country school management involves greater difficulty 
than the arrangement of the program. The following program, though 
by no means faultless, is offered as an organization containing fewer 
classes and longer periods than ordinarily found. This devoutly-to-be- 
wished consummation has been brought about in the following ways : 

i. By reducing the school to five grades. 

This was done through the alternation and elimination of grades. By 
alternation is meant the teaching of the even grades — first, second, 
fourth, six, and eighth — in the odd-numbered years (1911-13, etc.), 
and the teaching of the odd grades — first, second, third, fifth, and 
seventh — in the even-numbered years (i9o8-'io-'i2, etc.). This plan 
is not always possible, but is commonly practiced throughout the whole 
rural school system of some states, and can frequently be adopted by 
the individual teacher. 

By the elimination of grades is meant the cutting out of one or more 
grades. To illustrate, in the school where this program was worked 
out, the teacher decided to dissolve the fifth grade. The three children 
of this grade were accordingly given the privilege of a trial in the 
sixth grade for two weeks, with the understanding that failure here 
meant a return to the fourth grade. Care was taken that both parents 
and children should appreciate the increased advantage of such a 
movement to the school as a whole. Usually this appeases them. But 
no teacher, however capable, can advantageously handle more than 
five grade's. The change is therefore legitimate, regardless of parental 
objection. 

2. By alternating classes. 

Compare eighth grade geography and physiology; also eighth grade 
history and civics. This plan is familiar to all teachers. 

3. By combining classes. 

Many classes, as the sixth and eighth reading classes, can well be 
combined. This may be done more often than commonly practiced. 

4. By teaching some things secondarily; that is, in relation to others. 
Some subjects, language and penmanship especially, are given motive 



APPENDIX 



359 



and improved by emphasizing this relationship. Notice in this pro- 
gram that language in both the fourth and sixth grades is taught in 
relation to geography and history. 

5. By considering the school in two groups for some purposes. 

Two general classes are offered on this program ; one for the chil- 
dren of the lower grades and one for the advanced children. These 
classes provide an opportunity for introducing desirable work usually 
crowded out of the country school, and are recommended as perhaps 
the best feature of this program. Stories, poems, dramatization, con- 
struction work, water color, and primary songs may be given during 
this period, and a similar schedule offering nature study and agricul- 
ture may be arranged for the upper grades. Each subject may be 
given once a week, or, in the upper grades, continuously for several 
days or weeks. Plan each day of this work carefully, as the tempta- 
tion to drift in such a class is greater than in the conventional text- 
book recitation. 

PLANNING THE DAILY WORK 

The efficiency of this program, or of any program, is greatly 
increased by making brief outline plans of the day's work. The hurried 
country teacher will find it advisable to devote a special note-book to 
this purpose. The merest suggestion of the ground to be covered in 
each class will suffice, but the whole program from nine o'clock until 
four should be covered. For example, in first grade reading it is 
enough to record the sentences or words to be used for the next lesson ; 
while in history and geography classes, the one, two, or three chief 
points to be emphasized in the recitation will suffice. Such planning 
when regularly practiced becomes not only the basis of good reviewing 
but the teacher's greatest safeguard against insufficient and negligent 
preparation. 

Country School Program for Five Grades 
9:00- 9:10 — Opening exercises. 
9:10- 9:20 — First reading. 
9:20- 9:35 — Second reading. 
9:35- 9:50 — Fourth arithmetic. 
9:50-10:10 — Sixth arithmetic. 
10:10-10:30 — Eighth arithmetic. 

Recess 
10 :45-io :55 — First reading, word drill, or numbers. 
10:55-11:05 — Second numbers. 



360 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

10:05-11 :20 — Fourth geography — language. 

11 :20-ii 140 — Sixth history — language. 

11 40-12 :oo — Eighth geography — physiology. 

Noon 

1:00- 1:10 — First reading. 
1:10- 1:20 — Second reading. 
1 -.20- 1 :35 — Fourth reading. 

1 -35- 1 : 55— Sixth geography— language. 
1:55- 2:15 — Eighth history — civics. 
2:15- 2:30 — Written spelling, all grades. 

Recess 

2 :45- 3 105 — General primary class for lower grade's — literature, con- 

struction, drawing, music, etc. 
3:05- 3:30 — Advanced reading, sixth and eighth grades, and English 
and grammar, eighth grade. 

3 :30- 4 :oo — General advanced class for upper grades — nature study, 

agriculture, home science, drawing, music, etc. 



VII 

SEAT WORK IN COUNTRY SCHOOLS AND SOME PRIN- 
CIPLES UNDERLYING IT 

Two fundamental principles should be kept in mind in selecting and 
planning every piece of handwork. When these are adhered to, the 
work cannot be wholly wrong. 1. Handwork is simply one form of 
expression, and should therefore embody some idea to express. 2. It 
should be related to, and made to grow out of, other phases of school 
work. 

To the inexperienced teacher there often seems to be neither end 
nor classification to handwork. The whole subject seems to present 
a motley array of separate and unrelated tasks. Unfortunately, it is 
often taught in this way. The following classification has assisted 
some teachers in getting a bird's-eye view of the subject and grasping 
its underlying principles. There are, after all, but five distinct processes 
involved in ordinary seatwork. These processes, or activities, and the 
materials, or mediums, through which they are worked out are as 
follows : 



APPENDIX 3 5! 

Processes — Materials Used 

Sewing — Cloth and cardboard. 

Cutting and folding — Paper. 

Drawing and stick laying— Crayons, water colors, and shoe-pegs. 

Modeling — Clay and sand. 

Weaving — Paper, raffia, reeds, grasses, etc. 

To make this explanation clear, let it be applied concretely. Take 
the familiar story of the "Three Bears." Referring to the five processes 
above, it will be seen that all five activities might be exercised through 
this one story. Different scenes may be cut, or drawn, or painted; 
the bowls, spoons, beds, tables, and chairs may be sewed as card 
patterns or shaped in outline form on the desk with shoe-pegs, or 
modeled in clay; while the whole setting of the story, house, forest, 
and all, may be worked out in detail on the sand-table. Care must be 
taken not to tire the children of any one story, so it will be advisable 
to develop each one through but two or three of the activities possible, 
choosing those to which it is best adapted. 

Some Seatzuork Problems. In well-planned courses of study the 
seatwork is always an outgrowth, never an addition, or something 
dragged in merely to keep children busy; hence the incongruity of 
separate handwork courses and the impossibility of showing a course 
isolated from the rest of the curriculum. But teachers so often com- 
plain of a scarcity of ideas for seatwork that a few problems are 
offered here as illustrations of this relationship. When this connection 
is once understood, more suggestions for handwork present themselves 
than can possibly be used. 

A Sand-Table Farm. Any school can have a sand-table. Make one 
of some kind, then model a miniature farm upon it. Put on all the 
buildings, the trees, fields, pastures, streams, and even the people and 
animals. Make the house and barn of either paper or wood, the water 
of broken bits of mirror, and the woods of real twigs. Cut the 
farmer and his family and live-stock from magazine pictures or free- 
handed from plain paper. By the time all this is completed it will be 
found that much seatwork has been necessary in its preparation. But 
the serviceableness of the farm has but just begun. Handwork, in 
fact, is rather a by-product than an original investment in its construc- 
tion. The chief purpose of the sand-table farm is to furnish a basis 
for primary reading lessons. The seatwork involved, however, was 
fundamentally necessary and therefore of meaning and value to the 
children. 



362 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

A Doll House. Another project that calls for weeks of interesting 
and profitable seatwork is the doll house. This may be made of a 
large wooden box or built of lumber. As the task progresses, an 
industrial study of house building is made as a basis for future work 
in geography and history. Then follow the interior finishing, decora- 
tion, and furnishing. Wall paper must be designed, rugs woven, beds, 
tables, chairs, and dressers made, and even the clothing of the doll 
family is to be provided. In the meantime a whole series of interesting 
reading lessons has been possible. 

Booklets. Individual booklets to take home as gifts furnish another 
good problem in seatwork. These are best when based upon a definite 
interest, as a Hiawatha book, a story book, or a nature study book, 
though a general book of handwork is also good, and geography, 
language, and picture study books are much worth while in the inter- 
mediate grades. 

Primitive Life Stories. Among the best books yet out on seatwork 
is the primitive life series, entitled "The Tree Dwellers," "The Early 
Cavemen," and "The Later Cavemen," by Katherine E. Dopp, pub- 
lished by Rand, McNally & Company, Chicago, at 45 cents each. These 
are history books, but aid in handwork is one of their chief virtues. 
After each chapter numerous suggestions are offered of "things to do." 
These furnish an abundance of handwork and are so vitally related to 
the subject-matter given that they become natural forms of expression. 

Child Life Stories. Sand-table scenes of the geography studies of 
children in other lands furnish many lessons also. Not only the homes 
with their furnishings may be worked out, but the costumes, too. This 
is best done through the dressing of dolls. 

Handwork Management. The management of handwork instruction 
and of the materials used, involves no small difficulty in country schools. 
Much inconvenience is occasioned, for one thing, in giving the help 
necessary to each child. It is great economy, therefore, to take up 
the teaching of the five processes in some regular recitation period, 
probably in the primary class listed on the program above. After 
such explanation the children can proceed quite independently. Let 
some of the older children oversee the seatwork of the younger ones. 
This can be practiced to the advantage of all in a school of the right 
spirit. 

Another difficulty arises because some children work faster than 
others. For this, do not discourage rapidity, but devise a system 
elastic enough to accommodate all. Provide daily enough slips of 
paper for each grade requiring seatwork assignments. Then on the 



APPENDIX 



363 



one for the first grade, for example, list all the different seatwork 
problems that relate to the work of the day, arranged in the order of 
their educational value. Through this plan, as soon as a quick child 
has finished his task a new one awaits him and there is no distracted 
teacher vainly racking her brain for an assignment. In the case of 
the third and fourth grades, these cards or slips may be tacked up 
where the children can see them, making it possible for each child to 
refer to them and proceed at his own rate without further direction 
from the busy teacher. 

The care of materials is another vital matter in handwork instruc- 
tion in country schools. Indeed, much of the success of the whole 
room management and of the teaching process itself depends upon this. 
Good housekeeping is a fundamental requisite of the country teacher. 
Various plans for the care of materials may be worked out. A closet 
or cabinet of some kind is almost necessary for general stores. For 
the individual work each child may have' his own box, containing his 
personal equipment, or the different kinds of work may be classified 
in separate boxes or drawers. In this, each teacher must suit her own 
convenience. The important thing is that a definite, systematic plan 
be developed and followed. Froebel himself could never have taught 
a presentable lesson in cutting when he failed to find the scissors. 



VIII 

PICTURES THAT PORTRAY FARM LIFE 

The good country school implants a love of the open country. With 
the thought of increasing this idealism through drawing and picture 
study, some experiments were conducted in the Country Training 
School of the Western Illinois State Normal School, Macomb, through 
the years 1906, 1907, and 1908, which resulted in the selection ' of the 
following list of pictures. This list does not include all the pictures 
children should know, to be sure; neither does it furnish type-studies 
of all the various classes of paintings. It is simply a list of some 
pictures that portray farm life, help to idealize it, and have been found 
popular with country children through actual experiment. 

All these pictures and others may be had in small reproductions 
large enough for class study for one cent each. Most of them can 
be procured in a five-cent edition, and many of the landscapes may be 
had in colors for wall decoration. For information, see catalogs of 



364 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

picture firms quoted in section 5 of this appendix. Those selected by 
the children as special favorites are marked with an asterisk. 



Breton — 
*The Song of the Lark. 

Millet— 
*The Gleaners. 
*The Sower. 
*Angelus. 
Going to Work. 
Potato Planting. 
Woman Churning. 
*Feeding Her Birds. 
*The Rainbow. 
The First Step. 
Lands eer — 
A Distinguished Member 
of the Humane Society. 
*Saved. 

*Dignity and Impudence. 
^Shoeing the Bay Mare. 
*King of the Forest. 
The Sanctuary. 
Laying Down the Law. 
Corot — 
*Spring. 
Dance of the Nymphs. 
Landscape with Horsemen. 
^Landscape with Cottages. 
*The Lake. 
Troy on — 
*Return to the Farm. 
*Evening in May. 
Holland Cattle. 
Rosa Bonheur — 
Oxen Ploughing. 
On the Alert. 
A Noble Charger. 
*A Norman Sire. 
*A Humble Servant. 
Weaning the- Calves. 



Dupre — 
The Haymakers. 
*The Balloon. 
Milking Time. 
Escaped Cow. 
On the Prairie. 
Herring — 
*Three Members of a 
Temperance Society. 
Pharaoh's Horses. 
Village Blacksmith. 
Le Rolle— 
*By the River. 
*The Shepherdess. 

Ruysdael — 
^Landscape with Windmill. 
Landscape with Waterfall. 
Inness — 

The Coming Storm. 
*Autumn Gold. 
Landscape. 
Mauve — 
Autumn. 
Spring. 
Gorter — 
*Fading Light of Day. 
Paul Potter— 
The Prairie. 
Hobbema — 
*Avenue of Trees. 

Constable — 
*The Cornfield. 
Valley Farm. 
Rieke— 
*Sunset Glow. 
Road to the Village. 
Zuber — 
*September. 



APPENDIX 365 

Hunt — The Lone Wolf. 
*Deer by Moonlight. Griffin — 

Hart — Sunset on the Meadows. 
*The Brookside. A dan — 

Davis — The End of Day. 

*Close of Day. Across the Fields. 
Twilight. Jacque — 

Adam — In the Pasture. 
Cat and Kittens at Play. Van Marcke — 

Douglas — Farm Scene with Cattle. 
Winter. Pic knell — 

Spring. The Road to Concarneau. 
*Young England. Grueze — 

Mother and Daughter. *The Broken Pitcher. 
Hovenden — Eggleston — 

*Breaking Home Ties. Dawn. 
Kowalski — 

IX 

SOME COUNTRY LIFE LITERATURE 
Another means of increasing rural idealism in the country school is 
through the teaching of literary selections which idealize farm living. 
Many country teachers realize this opportunity but do not know where 
to turn for such material. For this reason the following lists are 
inserted. 

In making these lists the aim has been to include, not nature poems 
and sketches, but only those selections that refer specifically to real 
farm life. This has greatly narrowed the field. "We have practically 
no good poems of American farm life," says Professor L. H. Bailey in 
commenting on the present status of rural literature. "A poem on 
the plowboy is very likely to be one that sees the plowboy from the 
highway rather than one that expresses the real sentiment of labor 
on the land. I do not know where I can find a dozen first-class poems 
of farming. Farm poems are usually written from the study outward 
and by persons who see farming at long range, or who come to it with 
the city man's point of view. . . . We have very few good novels 
depicting the real farmer. A good many farm characters have been 
drawn, but most of them are caricatures, whether so intended or not, 
and present a type of life and a vocabulary which, if they exist at all, 
are greatly the exception." 

Under such limitations it is evident that this list cannot be wholly 



$66 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

satisfactory. It contains some of the best literature available for this 
purpose, however. Selections that have proved most effective with 
country children in awakening and expressing a love of the land are 
marked with an asterisk. All books quoted may be purchased from 
such book- jobbers as A. C. McClurg i& Company, Chicago, or the 
Baker & Taylor Company, New York. 

Short Poems 

For class study. Suitable for memorising if desired 

L. H. Bailey — In a collection published by the Roycrofters, East Aurora, 
New York, price 50 cents : The Farmer's Challenge. *The Farmer. 
The Country School. Also in Butterfield's The Country Church and 
the Rural Problem. The Country Church. 

James Whitcomb Riley — In Poems Here at Home: *Our Hired Girl. 
The Raggedy Man. Thoughts for a Discouraged Farmer. In 
Afterzvhiles: *01d Aunt Mary's. A Voice from the Farm. In 
Neighborly Poems: *When the Frost Is on the Punkin. In Child 
Rhymes: The Boy Lives on Our Farm. *Waitin' for the Cat to Die. 
The' Old Hay-Mow. In Farm Rhymes the following : A Country 
Pathway. *How John Quit the Farm. *Knee-deep in June. Old 
Winters on the Farm. A Song of Long Ago. *Up and Down Old 
Brandywine. Wet Weather Talk. *When the Green Gits Back in 
the Trees. Where the Children Used to Play. 

Eugene Field — In Poems of Childhood: To a Little Brook. *Over the 
Hills and Far Away. 

Paul Laurence Dunbar — In Lyrics of Lowly Life: The Old Apple Tree. 
The Corn-stalk Fiddle. A Corn Song. The Spellin' Bee. In Lyrics 
of Sunshine and Shadow: A Boy's Summer Song. *Wadin' in de 
Crick. The Farm Child's Lullaby. 

Robert Louis Stevenson — In A Child's Garden of Verses: Foreign 
Lands. The Cow. *The Hayloft. The' Swing. Farewell to the 
Farm. *Autumn Fires. 

Lida B. McMurry's Songs of Treetop and Meadow: *September, by 
Helen Hunt Jackson. Clovers, by Helena L. Jelliffe. The Chickens. 
Mowing. The Oak Tree, by Emily H. Miller. 

John Burroughs' Songs of Nature: The Joy of the Road, by Bliss 
Carman. Green Things Growing, by Dinah M. Craig. The Wind 
Across the Wheat, by Margaret Sangster. The Toil of the Trail, by 
Hamlin Garland. To a Troublesome Fly, by Thomas McKellar. 

Eliza Cook — See volume of poems. The Horse. The Old Farm- 
Gate. The Old Barn. *01d Dobbin. Song of the Haymakers. 



APPENDIX 



367 



Whittier' s Poems — Telling the Bees. ♦The Barefoot Boy. ♦In School 
Days. The Homestead. ♦The Huskers and the Corn Song. 

Bryant's Poems — *The Planting of the Apple Tree. An Invitation to 
the Country. ♦The Prairies. ♦To a Water Fowl. Lines on Revisit- 
ing the Country. "Oh, Fairest of the Rural Maids." *Ode for an 
Agricultural Celebration. 

Longfellow's Poems — *The Old Clock on the Stairs. Rain in Summer. 

Holmes' Poems — ♦The Plowman. ♦The Deacon's Masterpiece, or the 
Wonderful "One-Hoss Shay." 

Lowell's Poems — ♦The Oak. An Indian Summer Reverie. ♦To the 
Dandelion. The Pioneer. What Is So Rare as a Day in June? 
On Planting a Tree at Inveraray. 

Wordsworth's Poems — ♦The Daffodils. ♦My Heart Leaps Up When I 
Behold a Rainbow in the Sky. *The Reaper. Repentance. 

Shelley's Poems — ♦The cloud. ♦To a Skylark. 

Burns' Poems — ♦The Auld Farmer's New-Year Morning Salutation to 
His Auld Mare, Maggie. ♦To a Mouse on Turning Her Up in Her 
Nest with a Plow. *To a Mountain Daisy. My Father was a 
Farmer. ♦John Barleycorn. 

Browning's Poems — Home Thoughts from Abroad. ♦The Year's at 
the Spring. 

Long Poems 

For extended class study 
*Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. Gray. 
♦Michael. Wordsworth. 
♦Evangeline. Longfellow. 
♦Hiawatha's Fasting. Longfellow. 
♦The Deserted Village. Goldsmith. 

Maud Muller. Whittier. 
♦Snowbound. Whittier. 
♦Tarn o' Shanter. Burns. 

Sunthin in the Pastoral Line. Lowell's Biglow Papers. 
♦Cotter's Saturday Night. Burns. 

The Song of the Sower. Bryant. 

To My Old Schoolmaster. Whittier. 

Prose Selections 
For extended class study 
♦The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Irving. 
♦Rip Van Winkle. Irving. 



368 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

♦Poor Richard's Almanac. Franklin. 

Sir Roger de Coverley Papers (selections). Addison. 
♦Vicar of Wakefield. Goldsmith. 

Wood Magic (The Blue Flower). Van Dyke. 

Spy Rock (The Blue Flower). Van Dyke. 

Novels 
♦Adventures in Contentment. David Grayson. 
♦Being a Boy. C. D. Warner. 
♦Prairie Folks. Hamlin Garland. 
♦Main Traveled Roads. Hamlin Garland. 
*Boy Life on the Prairie. Hamlin Garland. 
*Eben Holden. Irving Bacheller. 
♦David Harum. Westcott. 
♦Courts of Boyville. William Allen White. 
♦The Country Doctor. S. O. Jewett. 

Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush. Ian Maclaren. 

In Ole Virginia. Thomas N. Page. 
♦Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm. Kate Douglas Wiggin. 

The Kentucky Cardinal. James Lane Allen. 
♦The Reign of Law. James Lane Allen. 

The Sky Pilot. Ralph Connor. 

The Circuit Rider. Eggleston. 

The Hoosier Schoolmaster. Eggleston. 
♦Jean Mitchell's School. Angelina Wray. 

In the Morning Glow. R. R. Gilson. 

The Call of the Wild. Jack London. 
♦Black Beauty. Mollie E. Seawell. 

X 

COUNTRY SCHOOL MUSIC AND FARM LIFE SONGS 

The country school presents a difficult problem in music. Songs 
that are suitable for the lower grades are too childish for the upper 
ones, and those adapted to older children are beyond the interest and 
ability of younger children. About the most practical plan for music 
instruction is to consider the school in two groups, the lower group 
including grades one to four, and the advanced group grades five to 
eight. When this is done, the next question is where to find desirable 
song material. Only the best of songs need, and should, be used. 



APPENDIX 



369 



These are now as easy and as inexpensive as any, and there can be no 
excuse for the use of inferior .selections. 

The field of song may also be made a great stimulant for the 
idealization of country life. The following list of song source's and 
of farm life songs is included here to assist country teachers in making 
selections toward this double end of good musical knowledge and 
country life spiritualization. For further convenience, these songs and 
books are listed in two groups, and those that have proved most 
popular with the country children, for whom they were originally 
collected, are starred. 

SONG BOOKS FOR COUNTRY SCHOOL USE 

For all grades 

*i. Elements of Music in Song. F. W. Westhoff. Public School 
Publishing Company, Bloomington, Illinois. Price, 45 cents. 

*2. Common School Book of Vocal Music. Eleanor Smith. Silver, 
Burdett & Company, Chicago. Price, 40 cents. 

*3. Choice Songs for Intermediate Grades. Orville T. Brewer Pub- 
lishing Company, Chicago. Price, 15 cents each. 

4. Children's Singing Games Old and New. Mari Hofer. A. Flana- 

gan Company, Chicago. Price, 30 cents. 

For lower grades 

5. Songs of the Child World, No. 1. Riley and Gaynor. The John 

Church Company, Chicago. Price, $1. 

*6. Songs of the Child World, No. 2. Same authors, company, and 
price. 
7. Lilts and Lyrics. Riley and Gaynor. Clayton F. Summy Com- 
pany, Chicago. Price, $1. 

*8. Primer, Modern Music Series. Eleanor Smith. Silver, Bur- 
dett & Company, Chicago. Price, 25 cents. 

*9. First Book, Modern Music Series. Author and company as 

above. Price, 30 cents. 
''io. Second Book, Modern Music Series. Price, 40 cents. 

11. The Song Primer. A. E. Bentley. A. S. Barnes Company, New 
York. Price, $1. 

T2. Songs in Season. George and Coonley. A. Flanagan Company, 
Chicago. Price, 50 cents. 

13. First Reader, New Educational Music Course. McLaughlin and 

Gilchrist. Ginn & Company, Chicago. Price, 30 cents. 

14. Second Reader, above series. Price, 30 cents. 



370 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

For upper grades 

*I5. The Abridged Academy Song Book. Levermore. Ginn & Com- 
pany, Chicago. Price, 75 cents. 

*i6. Alternate Third Book, Modern Music Series. Eleanor Smith. 
Silver, Burdett & Company, Chicago. Price, 50 cents. 

*iy. Fourth Book, above series. Price, 75 cents. 

18. Songs of Life and Nature. Eleanor Smith. Scott, Foresman & 

Company, Chicago. Price, 75 cents. 

19. -Folk Songs of Many Nations. Louis C. Elson. The John Church 

Company, Chicago. Price, $1. 

20. Favorite Songs and Hymns. J. P. McCaskey. American Book 

Company. Price, 80 cents. 

21. Songs of America and Homeland. Charles W. Johnson. Silver, 

Burdett & Company, Chicago. Price, 60 cents. 

22. Songs of the Nation. Author and company as above. Price, 60 

cents. 
*22,. Folk Songs and Other Songs for Children. J. B. R. Whitehead. 
Oliver Ditson Company, Chicago. Price, $2. 

24. The Lyric Song Book. H. W. Loomis. Clayton F. Summy 

Company. Price, 65 cents. 

25. Fifth Reader, New Educational Music Course. McLaughlin and 

Gilchrist. Ginn & Company, Chicago. Price, 50 cents. 

26. Sixth Reader, above series. Price, 50 cents. 

*27. Third Book, Modern Music Series. Eleanor Smith. Silver, 
Burdett & Company, Chicago. Price, 50 cents. 

SOME FARM LIFE SONGS 

Note — Numbers refer to the books listed above and show in which 
book or books each song may be found. 

For lower grades 
April, 16. Let Us Make a Garden, 7. 

Autumn Fires, 1. Little Gipsy Dandelion, 8. 

*Bringing the Cattle Home, 7. My Pony, 7. 

*Boating, 6. *Milking Time, 6. 

Coasting, 13. * Nature Songs (entire section), 6. 

*Flower Songs (entire section), 6. *Song of the Loaf of Bread, 5. 
*Goodbye to the Farm Song of the Shearers, 5. 

(Stevenson), 13. *Songs of the Seasons (entire 

Grasshopper Green, 7, 14. section), 5. 

*In the Barn, 14. The Bird's Nest, 5. 

*In the Straw Stack, 9. *The Dairy Maids, 7. 



APPENDIX 



371 



*The Farmer, 7. 

The Farmer in the Dell, 4, 7. 
*The Meadow is a Battle-field, 16. 

The Rainbow, 5. 

The Stepping-stones, 6. 

The Swing, 6. 
*The Swing (Stevenson), 10, 13. 



The Toad's Mistake, 11. 

The Wind (Stevenson), 8, 13. 

The Windmill, 5, 12. 

The Woodpecker, 8. 

Thanksgiving Song, 9. 

Thanksgiving, 13. 

Who Has Seen the Wind? n. 



For upper grades 



All Among the Barley, 1, 20. 

Autumn, 25. 
*Autumn Strews on Every Plain, 
16. 

City Lad and Country Lass, 19. 

Comin' Through the Rye, 19. 
*Corn Song, 1, 15. 
*Corn Song, 16. 
^Farmer and Finch, 10. 

Farewell to the Forest, 15, 22. 

Fawn-footed Nannie, 3. 
*First Violets, 15. 

Hail ! Bonny September, 17. 
*Hail to the Day (Mendelssohn), 
26. 

Happy Farmer Boy, 1. 
*Hark! Hark! the Lark, 15, 16. 

Harvest Home, 1, 16. 

Harvest Song, 17. 

Harvest Song, 22. 

Home, Sweet Home, 22. 

*How Cheerful Along the Gay 
Mead, 16. 

How Do You Hoe Your Row? 1. 
*I Know a Bank (Shakespeare), 

15. 
Mill May, 20. 
*My Heart's in the Highlands 
(Burns), 1, 15, 16, 17, 21. 
O ! Hemlock Tree, 16. 
Oh ! the Ash and the Oak, 18. 
Old Kentucky Home, 3, 19, 21, 22. 



*On Horseback (Rubinstein), 25. 

On a Nameless Hill-top, 26. 

Polish May Song, 1, 22. 

September, 18. 
*Skating Song (Schumann), 3, 15. 
*Song After Labor, 16, 21. 

Song of the Brook (Tennyson), 1. 
*Spring Song (Mendelssohn), 16. 

The Apple Orchard, 19. 

The Berry Pickers, 26. 

The Blushing Maple Tree, 15, 20. 
*The Farmer, 20. 
*The First Grass (Schumann), 16. 
*The Happy Farmer (Schumann), 
16. 

The Haymaker's Song, 17. 

The Haymaker's Roundelay, 26. 
*The Hay Ride, 26. 

The Harvester, 17. 

The Linden Tree, 1. 
*The Low-backed Car, 15, 19, 21. 
*The Old Oaken Bucket, 22. 
*The Painful Plow, 17. 
*The Plowman, 26. 
*The River Farm, 26. 

The River (Beethoven), 25. 

The Wild Rosebud, 15. 
*The Violet, 3. 
*Up the Hills, 3, 15- 
*Wait for the Wagon, 15. 

'Way Down Upon the Suwanee 
River, 16, 21, 22. 



372 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

XI 

A MINIMUM LIST OF MANUAL TRAINING TOOLS FOR 
COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

SOME PRINCIPLES RELATING TO MANUAL TRAINING IN 
COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

1. Introduce the subject gradually. Mend and make school furniture, 

basket-ball standards, walks, etc. This may not be satisfactory 
pedagogically, but it is the best method of approach in country 
schools, where a favorable attitude must often first be established 
among the people. 

2. Make things that are needed and of practical value either in school 

or at home. Cling to pedagogical principle as the determinant 
of the course' and do not allow material needs to displace this 
criterion, but at the same time select practical problems as 
illustrations of this educational unfolding. 

3. Remember that manual training has been defined as "hands follow- 

ing thought," and make sure that there is some thought about 
it to follow. 

4. Concentrate attention upon the children and their development; 

remember that the teacher's task is educating boys and girls, not 
planning a display of bric-a-brac. 

5. Four elements of study at least should be considered in working 

out a problem in woodwork. 

a. Materials : source, story, value, variety, seasoning, etc. 

b. Tools : care, handling, etc. 

c. Execution : way of handling tools and performing the physical 

task. Correct habits must be formed here. 

d. Relation to life : social and industrial studies, labor organization 

and competition, manufacturing processes, etc. 

6. Strive to avoid the pedagogical errors common in manual training. 

Among these are : 

a. Neglect of the thought side. 

b. Lack of motive or purpose in the work. This is seen in asking 

the children to make pieces undesirable or useless from their 
own point of view. 

c. Neglect of the social and industrial side of the subject. 

d. Over-stress on skill and excellence. 

The following list of tools was prepared by Mr. L. H. Burch, 
formerly teacher of manual training in the Western Illinois State 



APPENDIX 373 

Normal School, Macomb. Many country teachers have testified to 
its practicability. The prices listed are averages for the standard tools 
that can be purchased of local dealers anywhere. It is assumed that 
the one or two benches for this outfit shall be made by the larger boys. 

i rip saw (26 in. long) $1.60 1 Stanley brace .$1.50" 

1 cross-cut saw (10 points). 1.75 1 screwdriver 25 

1 back saw 1.50 1 square , . 1.00 

1 coping saw 25 2 hammers 1.20 

1 low angle block plane 1.00 1 oil can 10 

1 jack plane 1.85 1 oil stone 50 

1 T square 30 1 set Dowel bits 1.00 

1 marking gage 10 

1 quarter-inch chisel 30 $14.60 

1 inch chisel 40 

XII 

A MINIMUM EQUIPMENT FOR THE TEACHING OF DOMES- 
TIC SCIENCE IN COUNTRY SCHOOLS 

The following list of domestic science equipment for country schools 
is recommended by Mrs. Elma P. Foulk, Director of Household 
Extension in the Ohio State University, Columbus, and is published 
here through her kindness. The inexpensiveness and practicability of 
this list should commend it to all country teachers. A better list, 
costing ten dollars, may also be obtained from Mrs. Foulk. 

The stand for the stove in this equipment is to be home-made. Oil 
was decided upon as fuel because it is always obtainable. (For alcohol 
stoves, see this appendix, Section 4.) It is better to put the greater 
part of the money to be expended into a stove and buy the utensils as 
needed. Many of the granite articles may be purchased at a ten-cent 
store. The large granite kettle and the smaller granite kettle with a 
lid should be selected so that they may be used as a double boiler. 

EQUIPMENT COSTING APPROXIMATELY $5-00 

I stove $3-00 i Dover egg beater $0.05 

1 jpeasuring glass 10 1 wire egg beater. 03 

2 tablespoons 10 1 salt and 1 pepper 05 

3 teaspoons 10 1 asbestos mat 10 

1 steel knife 05 1 granite frying pan (large) . .10 

1 steel fork 05 1 granite frying pan (small) . .10 

I paring knife 10 1 granite kettle (large) 10 



374 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

i granite kettle (small) $0.10 i granite milk pan $0.10 

i lid for smaller granite i wire strainer 05 

kettle 05 1 granite teakettle 50 

1 bowl for mixing... .10 

2 granite pie pans at 10c. . . . . .20 $4-93 



XIII 

A SELECTED LIST OF TWENTY-FIVE BOOKS FOR THE 
USE OF COUNTRY TEACHERS 

The following list of books is the result of several years of practical 
experience in country school teaching and in the training of country 
teachers. Each book has been carefully tested and passed upon by 
many country teachers. It has been the purpose in making this selec- 
tion to keep it as inclusive and helpful and yet as inexpensive as 
possible. But one book in each field' or subject is given. The list thus 
represents a minimum equipment of professional aid for country 
teachers. All books named for which no publishing house is given 
may be secured of A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago, at the prices 
quoted. The entire list can be purchased for less than $30. 

1. Report of the Country Life Commission. See pages 69 and 

313, and Bibliography, page 389. 

2. Butterfield, K. L. Chapters in Rural Progress. See Bibliog- 

raphy, page 388. 

3. Bailey, L. H. The Training of Farmers. See Bibliography, 

page 388. 

4. Bailey, L. H. The Country Life Movement. See Bibliography, 

page 388. 

5. Kern, O. J. Among Country Schools. See Bibliography, 

page 389 and page 296. 

6. Thorndike, Edward L. Principles of Teaching. Price, $1.25. 

Excellent presentation of the common-sense essentials of 
good pedagogy. This one book fully lived up to would 
insure good teaching. 

7. Wray, Angelina. Jean Mitchell's School. Price, $1. This 

book in the attractive guise of a story presents an ideal of 
country teaching that every country teacher should possess. 

8. Briggs and Coffman. Reading in the Public Schools. Price, 

$1.25. Best book on the subject for country teachers. 



APPENDIX 



375 



9. Kemp, Elwood W. History for Graded and District Schools, 

Price, $1. Covers the work in history throughout the 
grades more adequately than any other. 

10. Dodge, Richard E. The Teaching of Geography in Elemen- 
tary Schools. (Forthcoming.) Rand, McNally Company, 
Chicago. Contains the best discussion of rural school geog- 
raphy in its relation to farm living yet in print. 

n. Field, Jessie. The Corn Lady. A. Flanagan Company, Chi- 
cago. Price, 60 cents. The story of a country teacher. 
Contains excellent set of farm arithmetic problems. 

12. Comstock, Mrs. A. B. Handbook of Nature Study. Price, $3. 

Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, New York. An 
excellent source of information for nature study. Profusely 
illustrated. 

13. Keeler, Harriet Louise. Our Native Trees. Price $2. Easily 

handled and helpful key to the study of forest trees in the 
Middle West. 

14. Blanchan, Neltje. Bird Neighbors. Price, $2. Best help for 

beginners in bird study. Contains classification based on 
color and large life-like pictures. 

15. Mann, A. R. Beginnings in Agriculture. Price, 75 cents. 

Excellent reference for both teacher and pupils. Its em- 
phasis upon the social side of country life is especially 
desirable. 

16. Weed, Clarence. Farmers' Friends and Foes. D. C. Heath & 

Company. $1.25. Especially good on weeds and insects. 

17. Seegmiller, Wilhelmina. Applied Arts Drawing Books. Of 

great help to inexperienced teachers. See page 355. 

18. Worst and Keith. Educative Seatwork. Educational Pub- 

lishing Company, Chicago. 85 cents. Especially valuable 
because it shows the relation of seat work to other subjects. 

19. McMurry, Mrs. Lida B. Classic Stories for Little Ones. 

Price, 40 cents. Good beginning for primary story telling. 
Secure the teacher's edition with pedagogical supplement. 

20. McMurry, Mrs. Lida B. Songs of Treetop and Meadow. 

Price, 40 cents. Beautiful collection of child poetry, con- 
taining poems to teach in primary grades. 

21. Stevenson, Robert Louis. A Child's Garden of Verses. Price, 

from 30 cents up. No teacher of little children can afford 
to be without these charming child rhymes. 

22. Hofer, Mari R. Singing Games for Children. A. Flanagan 



376 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Company, Chicago. Price, 30 cents. Has easy musical 
accompaniments. Helpful for indoor games. 

23. Bancroft's Games for the Playground, Home, School, and 

Gymnasium. The Macmillan Company, New York. Price, 
$1.75. An excellent collection, including all kinds of games. 

24. The Abridged Academy Song Book. Published by Ginn & 

Company, Chicago. Price, 75 cents. Contains a splendid 
collection of good songs for the upper grades of country 
schools. 

25. Riley and Gaynor. Songs of the Child World. Book I and 

Book II. Price, $1 each. Published by the John Church 
Company, Chicago. Two of the best collections of primary 
songs. 

XIV 

SUGGESTED PROBLEMS OF COUNTRY SCHOOL TEACHING 

FOR THE ATTACK OF INDIVIDUAL COUNTRY 

TEACHERS 

Nothing will improve any teacher so rapidly as constructive thinking. 
With this thought in mind, leaders of the Country Teachers' Asso- 
ciation of Illinois in 1907 put out a bulletin outlining and suggesting a 
list of problems for country teachers. The solution of such problems 
is still a feature of the work of the Country Teachers' Association 
of Illinois, and the results of this work, as taken up by various country 
teachers of the state, become the basis of the Country School Exhibit 
made each year at the time of the annual Country School Conference 
of the Association. This list of problems was prepared by, and should 
be credited wholly, to Dr. Frederick G. Bonser, formerly of the Western 
Illinois State Normal School at Macomb. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT 

An account, with photographs or drawings, of improvements you 
have made in : 

1. Your heating plans. If a stove, make a clay model of it. 

2. Lighting plans, shades, and curtains. 

3. Decoration of walls — blackboards, wall paper, pictures, bulletin 

boards, etc. 

4. Seating — desks, chairs, window seats, settees, kindergarten tables 

and chairs, etc. 

5. Painting of building, inside and outside, floors, etc. 



APPENDIX 377 

6. Apparatus — stands, book cases, tables, cupboards, aquarium, animal 

cage, etc. 

7. Outside conditions — walks, well, outbuildings, yard arrangement, 

flowers, gardens, paths, etc. 

Work out and construct plans and models for an ideal district school 
and outbuildings with adequate room for all purposes, and proper 
heating, ventilating, and lighting provisions. 

Construct and develop a landscape plan for a typical country school 
yard, embodying all desired elements, both utilitarian and aesthetic. 

IMPROVEMENT OF THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT 

Visit patrons. Record your visits, giving dates, the principal points 
discussed, the impressions you received, the conditions learned; note 
whether the school work is reaching into the life of the home, whether 
home needs are being met by the school. Visits to patrons offer excellent 
opportunity to discuss new lines of thought; as, agriculture, school 
equipment, consolidation of schools, etc. 

Parents' meetings. Meetings for the discussion of specific school 
questions ; as, attendance, home work, discipline, moral habits of the 
children, how parents may help the school most, reading for children, 
etc. Plan and hold such meetings and develop a list of topics and 
problems growing out of your experience which may help others. 

Evening meetings. For entertainment and instruction — literary, 
musical, debates, contests, etc. For getting money — basket socials, pay 
entertainments, sales, etc. Inspirational meetings — talks, lectures, 
addresses, by teachers, ministers, professional men, and others, on 
general and country life subjects. 

CONSOLIDATION OF SCHOOLS 

If conditions seem at all favorable in your territory to the develop- 
ment of a consolidated school, set out to secure such a movement. 
Secure, from the township assessor, the amount of taxable property 
in each school district concerned. Make a map showing the distribu- 
tion of the children in the territory proposed for consolidation. Show 
the possible routes of transportation. Find the cost per capita in each 
of the schools concerned. Secure an approximate statement of the 
cost of a consolidated school plant and of the cost of maintaining it 
for one year. Show the benefits gained by consolidation. Make a 
plan and model of a good consolidated school building and grounds 
which will aid in enforcing the advantages of consolidation. In educat- 
ing the community to an appreciation of the meaning and values of 
consolidation, use every available opportunity — personal calls and con- 



378 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

versations, the influence you can exert through the children, a wise 
distribution of the literature on the subject, as the bulletins you can 
get from the State University at Urbana, lectures, discussions, and 
evening meetings to talk over the subject with reference to definite 
steps after your people are prepared for these. Consult and learn 
thoroughly those parts of the school law relative to consolidation. Find 
out all you can about the John Swaney consolidated school in Putnam 
County and about other such schools in the United States. 

COUNTRY SCHOOL ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

A country school program, daily and weekly, with reasons for the 
plan you advocate. 

Opening exercises in country schools — suggested and tried material 
that will hold the interest and attention of all grades and be of real 
value to them. 

Schoolroom sanitation and cleanliness — how to manage the janitor 
work to best advantage. 

Practical and psychological seatwork for the first four grades in 
country schools ; work worth while and well adapted to the pupils. 

The noon hour and recess periods — how to use this time to the 
greatest advantage and enjoyment. 

Indoor and outdoor games for country schools. 

PROBLEMS IN THE SEVERAL SUBJECTS OF STUDY 

Arithmetic 

ioo problems on the corn industry: Acreage in your district; cost 
of planting, tending, and harvesting; cost of various methods of 
harvesting, as binding, shredding, etc. ; yields ; values of fertilizers 
used, in cost and in returns ; marketing, shelling, and hauling ; shrink- 
age ; corn products — meals, starch, glucose, distillery and brewery 
products, breakfast foods, oils, etc. ; feeding corn to stock — which 
pays better, selling corn or feeding it to stock? Gain or loss in 
cutting corn. Send for bulletins to the Agricultural College at the 
University of Illinois, Urbana. Use actual conditions in your own 
district as a basis for these problems. These will all suggest many 
others which will make your arithmetic real and vital. 

ioo problems in oats, wheat, and hay, as suggested for corn. 

ioo problems in stock raising — cattle, hogs, horses, sheep, poultry, 
etc. Are farmers actually making any money on their stock? Use 
actual case's, getting facts as they are in your district from one or 



APPENDIX 379 

more farmers. Which pays better, selling steers at two years or three? 

ioo problems in dairying. Cost and return of individual milk cows. 
How many cows in the district really pay? Does it pay, financially, to 
use a separator? 

ioo problems in fruit growing. Tree fruits — apples, pears, peaches, 
etc.; does it pay the farmer to raise these fruits for market? Brush- 
fruits — berries, currants, grapes, etc. 

50 problems in drainage. Cost and value of open ditches ; of tiling ; 
gains by draining; studies in soil moisture, rainfall, needs of various 
crops, etc. An excellent little book for much of this farm work is 
Elementary Agriculture, by Hatch and Haselwood, published by Row, 
Peterson & Company, Chicago, 50 cents. 

50 problems in fencing on farms. Studies in comparative costs, 
durability, and efficiency of various kinds of posts and fencing. 

50 problems in fertilizers for soils. Values of barnyard manure, 
cornstalks, straw, and stubble. Artificial fertilizers — costs and returns 
from using. Make experiments in your school garden. 

50 problems in farm machinery. Relative economy in cheap machin- 
ery; does it pay to own a self-binder or to hire one? Does it pay to 
own a corn binder, a manure spreader, a hay derrick? Relative 
economy in a wide-cut mowing machine, two-row cultivator, gang 
plow, etc., in comparison with smaller implements. Losses in machinery 
through want of care. 

50 problems on farm buildings. Dimensions, cost of materials, car- 
penter work, etc. 

50 problems on the economic values of birds and helpful insects ; 
economic losses through harmful insects, fungi, weeds, etc. Get bulle- 
tins from the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, sent free 
on request. 

50 problems on farm incomes and expenditures. What interest do 
farms actually pay? 

50 problems on the cost of food on the farm. The market value of 
foods grown and eaten on the farm. Use individual families as a basis. 
Figure cost of actual menus for country meals at market prices of foods. 

50 problems in the actual sales and expenditures of one or more 
families for one month, or three months, or one year. 

History 

History of the school district for the last fifty years. 

History of one family in the school district through five generations. 

Stories and traditions of the early settlement of the district. 



380 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

Original stories of American history by persons living in the dis- 
trict — soldiers of the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and others. 

History of the school since its founding — its buildings, directors, 
teachers, pupils, significant events, etc. 

History of one farm in the district since it was originally filed upon 
as a homestead or bought from the government, including an examina- 
tion of deeds, abstracts of title, mortgages, etc. 

History of land sales and values since the district was all public land. 

The place of your county in the Civil War. 

The part your county served in the early history of Illinois. 

The history of your township since the first settlement in it. 

The biography, with its historical relationships, of any prominent or 
significant individuals of old age in the district. 

Geography 

The topography of the school district — color maps, relief maps, con- 
tour maps, all drawn to scale. 

Studies in the drainage of the school district, and of the township. 

The geography of one square mile, or of one quarter section, in the 
school district — topography, drainage, forests, kinds and qualities of 
soils, physical formations, physiographic history, etc. 

The industrial geography of the school district for one year. Amounts 
and prices of products, yields, cost of labor, cost of purchases, living 
expenses, values of lands, transportation facilities, profits and losses, 
relative values of different farm crops and products, etc. 

Commerce involved in the need of one family in the district for 
one year. 

Geographical distribution of the products exported from the district 
for one year. 

Geographical sources of the imports to the district for one year. 

Geographical influences in the making of roads and in the boundaries 
of farms in the district. 

Geographical sources of the population of the district reaching back 
as far as the grandparents of the present population. 

Industrial geography of the numerous industries involved in equip- 
ping the farm — fencing, vehicles, machinery, harness, pumps, furniture, 
household hardware, cutlery, kitchen equipment, stoves and furnaces, 
carpets, draperies, lighting systems, etc. 

Industrial geography of the exports from the farm — leather, wool, 
grain products, meat, and other live stock products, etc. 

A study of the markets of the district — immediate and remote. 



APPENDIX 



381 



Products map of the school district. A products map for each of the 
last five years of one section of the school district, showing the rotation 
of crops followed. Make this the basis of some studies in crop rotation, 
soil fertility, etc. 

Soil maps of the district based on examination of soils and on crops. 

Meteorology of the school district through several months, making 
careful daily observations and showing results in charts and maps. 
In this connection, study the weather maps and the principles of 
meteorology underlying the methods of weather forecasting. 

Physiographic studies in the school district — weathering, erosion, 
hills, valleys, glacial effects, stones, etc. 

Changes in the school district through the last 50 years as to forests, 
drainage, lakes or ponds, swamps, redemption of waste lands, etc. 
Represent the results of such studies by a series of maps, one for each 
five years, two years, or one year, as need indicates. 

Nature Study 

Plan and develop a school garden, giving special attention to design. 
Study injurious insects, weeds, etc., in relation to the garden work. 
Also beneficial animal forms — the toad, earthworm, bees, birds, etc. 

Study the habits of birds — their migration, nesting habits, foods, etc. 
Make charts showing each. 

Study trees and make a collection of all the different woods grown 
in the district, writing up their qualities and values, both economic and 
aesthetic. 

Work out studies of the homes, habits, and life stories of the various 
vertebrate wild animals in the school district, with references, where 
important, to their economic bearings. 

How many kinds, or varieties, are found in your district of each of 
the following fruits: Apples, peaches, pears, plums, berries, grapes? 
Work out discussions of the numerous varieties in each case with 
reference to their respective values in your locality. 

Make a study of all the different kinds of pumps and other ways of 
drawing water from wells. Make drawings of these pumps and state- 
ments of the principles involved in the common lifting pump and other 
varieties found. 

Make similar studies in type pieces of farm machinery — plows, corn 
planters, cultivators, wheat drills, seeders, mowers, binders, disc har- 
rows, hay rakes, etc., using every kind in the district in each case. 
Which is the best, and why? W T hat are the principles involved in the 
structure of each, in so far as children can appreciate these? 



382 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

English 

Compositions on country and farm life — Make and try lists of theme 
subjects, as: Getting up early in the morning; Why it pays to keep 
the weeds mowed along the roads ; etc. Develop special types of 
composition, namely : 

Description — Of buildings, stock, trees, fruits, machines, pumps, and 
windmills, fields, landscapes, etc. 

Narration — Farm activities — plowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, 
threshing, constructing fences, repairs, etc. 

Exposition — Changes in farm life through the use of the telephone 
and free mail delivery ; present-day land values and their growth ; 
Why farmers in Illinois devote so much of their land to corn 
growing; etc. 

Argumentation — Advantages of country life ; relative values of dif- 
ferent breeds of horses, cows, hogs, poultry, fruits, etc. ; relative values 
of different methods of farming, as surface cultivation of corn, deep 
cultivation, etc. Resolved, That it pays to burn cornstalks ; Resolved, 
That spraying fruit trees is a waste of time ; etc. 

Poetry — Original poems — simple scenes, activities, and impressions of 
country life through the year. Surprising results may be gotten from 
the second grade upward if you help the spontaneous nature of the 
children. 

Reading — Reading lessons for the first grade based upon actual, 
living interests of country life; as, lessons on pets, on the toad, frog, 
butterflies, spiders, birds, farm activities, the barnyard people, the 
meadow people, etc. 

Literature — Lists of appropriate selections, prose and poetry, for 
various farm activities, occasions, plants, animals, etc. ; as, selections 
about corn, about fruits, about planting, about the harvest, etc. 

Art Studies — Drawing, Modeling, and Designing 
Drawings and paintings of typical scenes and objects about the 

school house and district through the different seasons of the year; 

the same scenes, trees, etc., in summer and in winter ; fruit trees 

with blooms, with green fruits, with ripe fruits ; pictures of stock, 

plants, farm machinery, vehicles, landscapes ; bits of streams and 

borders of streams, roads, and woodlands. 

Models in clay of fruits, stock, figures from stories, common objects, 

pottery, etc. 

Designs — In pencil, and in pen and ink, of plans for manual training 

work, for decoration of pieces of handwork, book covers, cards, 



APPENDIX 383 

pillows, etc. Try figures made of shelled corn, wheat, timothy, clover, 
acorns, nuts, leaves, etc. 

Develop a country school magazine for each pupil through the year. 
Make cover designs from local material, letting each pupil work out an 
original design, using motives from scenery, history, etc. Put in the 
magazines the best drawings, compositions, geography, history, and 
arithmetic work, etc. Make one or more class or school magazines 
in which are placed pieces of work of especial excellence. 

Have made a model of your school house, in clay, wood, cardboard, 
or other material, to show the defects or advantages of your building. 

Make a study of the world's best pictures by finding out which appeal 
most strongly to country children of various ages, thus developing a 
graded list of pictures especially appropriate for study in country 
schools. Try, also, biographical stories of the various artists whose 
pictures are used, to find appropriate ones for schools. 

Music 

Have the children make original melodies for some of the simple 
phrases and poems which refer to seasons, nature, country life, etc. 
Have them also write short poems for times and occasions, as for 
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas, Arbor Day, Bird Day, etc., setting 
some of these to original melodies of their own. You will be sur- 
prised to find how well children will furnish suitable melodies for 
simple verses. 

Select, by trying them with the children, a good list of the best songs 
for country children. Make a list of songs, music, and musicians, on 
the basis of trials, especially appealing to children through country life 
experience. 

Work out a good one-year course in music for a one-room country 
school. Add to this if possible, a second year of work to be given in 
alternation with the first year's work. 



DIRECTORY OF RURAL PROGRESS 



LISTING SIXTY-FIVE MOVEMENTS DEVOTED TO THE 
UPBUILDING OF AMERICAN FARM LIFE 

One of the greatest handicaps confronting those engaged in country 
life work is the difficulty of procuring accurate information concerning 
developments of recent progress. To facilitate this end, the following 
directory is inserted here. Special precaution has been exercised to 
make the source's of this directory as permanent as possible, and even 
where the personnel of officers may change, office addresses will be 
found reliable. Readers who need information from sources not tabu- 
lated here should consult the Service Bureau of the International 
Harvester Company of America, in the Harvester Building, at Michi- 
gan Avenue and Harrison Street, Chicago, which is at present one of 
the best clearing-houses for rural information in the United States. 
The page references given in column two refer to pages of this book 
where further information concerning particular movements may be 
found. 

I. GENERAL COUNTRY LIFE MOVEMENTS 



Movement 
National Commission on 
Country Life. 

International Institute of 
Agriculture. 



National Grange- 
of Husbandry. 



-Patrons 



National Corn Association. 



National Conservation As- 
sociation. 

International Dry Farm- 
ing Congress. 



National Con- 



Farmers' 
gress. 

Farmers' Union. 
National Apple Show. 



New England Conference 
on Rural Progress. 



Purpose and Explanation 

To investigate present farm 
life conditions. (Pages 69 
and 313.) 

A world order to promote agri- 
cultural interests of the na- 
tions. (Page 312.) 

To advance the general wel- 
fare of farmers. 
(Chapter IV.) 

Now a general national coun- 
try life association. 
(Page 310.) 

Promulgation of the conser- 
vation of resources. 

To disseminate knowledge of 
dry farming methods. 
(Page 310.) 

To consider national questions 
related to agriculture. 

To promote business coopera- 
tion among farmers. 
(Page 306.) 

Orchardist's conference held 
annually at Spokane, Wash. 

To further the welfare of New 
England rural life. 
(Page 309.) 

384 



Sources of Information 
Document No. 705 Govern- 
ment Printing Office, 
Washington, D. C. 
Mr. David Lubin, Sacra- 
mento, Cal. 

National Master, Oliver 
Wilson, Peoria, Illinois. 

President, Eugene D 
Funk, Shirley, Illinois 

Mr. Gifford Pinchot, Wash 
ington, D. C. 

President Dr. J. H. Worst 

College of Agriculture 

Fargo, N. D. 
Secretary George M. Whit 

aker, 1404 Harvard St. 

Washington, D. C. 
President Charles A. Bar 

rett, Atlanta, Ga. 

Headquarters of the Na 

tioual Apple Show, Spo 

kane, Wash. 
Pres. K. L. BuUerfield 

College of Agriculture 

Amherst, Mass. 



DIRECTORY OF RURAL PROGRESS 



335 



Movement 
"The Amherst Move- 
ment." 

Southwest Interstate As- 
sociation for Country- 
Life. 

National Soil Fertility 
League. 

Illinois Federation for 
Country Life Progress. 

Rhode Island League for 
Rural Progress. 

Rural Life Conference of 
the University of Vir- 
ginia. 

Washington Country Life 
Commission. 

Hesperia Movement. 



Purpose and Explanation 
Summer school of the Mass. 

State College of Agriculture. 

(Pages 53 and 304.) 
To advance country life in the 

Southwest. 

Organization of eminent men 
devoted to soil improvement. 

State federation of rural social 
forces holding annual con- 
ferences. (Page 318.) 

Similar to above. (Page 318.) 

To initiate rural progress 

throughout the South. 

(Page 308.) 
A state organization similar 

to the National Commission. 
A mature local movement for 

the upbuilding of a rural 

community. 



Sources of Information 

Director William D. Hind, 
College of Agriculture, 
Amherst, Mass. 

Fres. E. D. Cameron, 
State Supt. of Okla- 
homa, Oklahoma City. 

Secretary H. H. Gross, 
1328 First National 
Bank Bldg., Chicago. 

Secretary Mabel Carney, 
Normal, 111. 

Rhode Island State Col- 
lege, Kingston, R. I. 

University of Va., 

Charlottesville, Va. 
Chairman, David Brown, 

Spokane, Wash. 
Mr. David L. Brooks. 

Fremont, Mich. 



II. HOME IMPROVEMENT MOVEMENTS 



American Home Econom- 
ics Association. 



Bureau of Information 
and Circulating Library 
on Home Questions. 

The Illinois Association of 
Household Science. 

The Illinois Congress of 
Mothers. 



"To improve the conditions 
of living in the home, the 
institutional household, and 
the community." 

Conducts correspondence work 
and will answer questions 
for those enrolled. 

Organization of the state 
farmers' institute for home 
science. 

State organization for home 
improvement and child cul- 
ture. 



Pres. Prof. Isabel Bevier, 
University of Illinois, 
Urbana. 

American School of Home 
Economics, 606 West 
69th Street, Chicago. 

Pres. Mrs. H. M. Dunlap, 
Savoy, 111. 



Mrs. Alfred Bayli 
comb, 111. 



Ma- 



li!. COUNTRY CHURCH MOVEMENTS 



General Secy. Rev. E. B. 
Sanford, D.D., Rural 
Secy. Rev. George F. 
Wells, 1611 Clarendon 
Bldg., New York City. 

Dr. Warren H. Wilson, 
156 5th Ave., New York 
City. 

Secretary Albert E. Rob- 
erts, International Asso- 
ciation Bldg., 124 East 
2Sth St., New York. 

Secretary Jessie Field, 
125 East 27th Street, 
New York. 

President, Prof. T. N. 
Carver, Harvard Uni- 
versity, Cambridge, 
Mass. 

Rev. Charles E. Bacon, 
Rooms 920-22 Associa- 
tion Bldg., Chicago, 111. 

IV. FARMERS* ORGANIZATIONS — BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL 

National Department of Special bureau of the Depart- Farmers' Institute Spe- 

Farmers' Institutes. ment of Agriculture devoted r-ialist John Hamilton, 

to farmers' institutes. Washington, D. C. 
(Page 94.) 



Federal Council of the 
Churches of Christ in 
America. 



Department of Church 
and Country Life. 

County Work of the 
Young Men's Christian 
Association. 

County Work of the 
Young Women's Chris- 
tian Association. 

New England Country 
Church Association. 



Illinois Church Federa- 
tion. 



"To forward the federative 
idea among churches." Has 
special rural department. 
(Page 50.) 

Rural division of the Presby- 
terian Board of Home Mis- 
sions. (Page 53.) 

To advance the spiritual and 
moral welfare of boys in 
rural districts. (Page 57.) 

Moral and spiritual work 
among girls in country dis- 
tricts. (Page 60.) 

To upbuild and federate the 
country churches of New 
England. (Page 50.) 

State organization of churches. 



386 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



Movement 
American Association of 
Farmers' Institute 
Workers. 

Farmers' Cooperative 
Demonstration Work. 

DeKalb County Soil Im- 
provement Association. 

American Society of 
Equity. 

Hood River Fruit Grow- 
ers' Association. 



Purpose and Explanation 

An organization of institute 
instructors for the promo- 
tion of their work. (Page 
95.) 

To teach scientific farming to 
farmers of the South. (Page 
307.) 

DeKalb County, 111., employs 
a county secretary of agri- 
culture. 

National organization to fur- 
ther the systematic market- 
ing of crops. 

To control the marketing of 
apples. (Page 306.) 



Sources of Information 

Anuual Proceedings, from 
Farmers' Institute Spe- 
cialist John Hamilton, 
Washington, D. C. 

Director W. L. English, 
Dept. of Agriculture, 
Washington, 1). C. 

William G. Eckhardt, De- 
Kalb, 111. 

Pres. James A. Everitt, 
Indianapolis, Ind. 

Mr. C. H. Sproat, Hood 
River, Oregon. 



V. ROADS ASSOCIATIONS 



National Office of Public 
Roads. 



Permanent International 
Association of Road 
Congresses. 

The American Association 
for Highway Improve- 
ment. 

The National Good Roads 
Association. 

Good Roads Department, 
National Letter Car- 
riers' Association. 

State Good Roads Asso- 
ciation. 



Farmers' Good Roads 
League of Illinois. 



Iowa River-to- River 
Association. 



Road 



Special bureau of the Depart- 
ment of Agriculture devoted 
to roads. (Pages 113 and 
127.) 

The promotion of road science 
on an international scale. 
(Page 125.) 

To serve as a clearing house 
for road information, and to 
correlate all highway effort. 
(Page 124.) 

To educate the public to the 
necessity of improved roads. 
(Page 124.) 

An effort of letter carriers to 
further the road movement. 

All states have such organiza- 
tions for road improvement. 
(Page 127.) 



To advance 
hard roads. 



the building of 



Formed to drag and maintain 
a 380-mile road across the 
state. (Page 123.) 



Director L. W. Page, 
Washington, D. C. 

Office of Public Roads, 
Washington, D. C. 

Address the Association, 
Colorado Building, 
Washington, D. C. 

Pres. Arthur C. Jackson, 
Chicago Opera House 
Bldg., Chicago. 

C. M. Adams, Director, 
Davenport, Iowa. 

Address State Highway 
Engineer at various 
state capitals. In Illi- 
nois, Mr. A. N. John- 
son, Springfield. 

Secretary Mr. H. H. 
Gross, 6U01 Indiana 
Ave., Chicago. 

Secretary J. W. Eichinger, 
Des Moines, la. 



VI. SCHOOL AND EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENTS 



Country Teachers' Asso- 
ciation of Illinois. 



Women's School Better- 
ment Association of the 
South. 

Boys' Corn and Agricul- 
tural Clubs. 

Graduate School of Agri- 
culture. 

Association of American 
Agricultural Colleges 
and Experiment Sta- 
tions. 

Southern Boys' Corn 
Clubs. 



Organization of country teach- 
ers for advancing the wel- 
fare of country schools. 
(Page 273.) 

An organization of Southern 
women for the improvement 
of schools. 

These are established in many 
states, especially Nebraska, 
Iowa, Ohio and Texas. 

To promote agricultural re- 
search. (Page 304.) 

An organization of institutions 
named to promote agricul- 
tural science. (Page 304.) 

National work conducted 
through the South by the 
Department of Agriculture. 
(Pages 232 and 308.) 



Mabel Carney, State Nor- 
mal School, Normal, 111. 



Mrs. Charles D. Maclver, 
Greensboro, N. C. 

State Superintendents of 
states named. 

President of any state col- 
lege of agriculture. 

Circular 36. Office of 
Experiment Stations, 
Washington, D. C. 

Director O. S. Martin, 
Dept. of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C. 



DIRECTORY OF RURAL PROGRESS 



387 



The 
Fund 



Movement 
Anna T. Jeanes 



Rural School 
Exhibits. 



Industrial 



Polish - American 
ers' Day. 



Farm- 



Purpose and Explanation 
One million dollars devoted to 

the improvement of negro 

rural schools. (Page 3U9.) 
State movement by the College 

of Agriculture to further 

this work. 
An attempt to aid immigrant 

farmers. The first effort of 

its kind so far undertaken in 

the United States. 



Sources of Information 

Dr. J. H. Dillard, 571 
Audubon St., New Or- 
leans, La. 

Director George F. How- 
ard, College of Agricul- 
ture, St. Paul, Minn. 

Prof. William D. Hurd, 
Director of Extension, 
College of Agriculture, 
Amherst, Mass. 



VII. LIBRARY AND PRESS MOVEMENTS 



The Farmers' Voice. 



Conference of Rural Li- 
brarians. 

Wisconsin Traveling Li- 
braries. 

Illinois Library Extension 

Commission. 
Minnesota Farmers' Club 

and Library Movement. 

Cornell Reading Course 
for Farmers. 



Agricultural journal emphasiz- 
ing rural social progress. 
(Page 102.) 

To further the use of libraries 
as rural social centers. 

To send traveling libraries 
into rural districts. 

To circulate free traveling 

libraries. 
To establish local farmers' 

clubs and issue bulletins for 

their use. 
Furnishes bulletins to New 

York farmers and their 



Arthur J. Bill, editor, 
Bloomington, 111. 

Miss Anna M. Tarbell, 
Brimfield, Mass. 

Miss Lutie E. Stearns, 
Wisconsin Library Com- 
mission, Madison. 

Miss Eugenia Allin, De- 
catur, 111. 

Farmers' Library, Univer- 
sity Farm, St. Paul, 
Minn. 

Prof. C. H. Tuck, Cornell 
College of Agriculture, 
Ithaca, N. Y. 



VIII. COUNTRY BEAUTIFUL MOVEMENTS 



American Civic Associa- 
tion, Department of 
Rural Improvement. 

Illinois Outdoor Improve- 
ment Association. 

Massachusetts Civic 
League. 



Devoted to the civic upbuild- 
ing of the country. 



Office of the Secretary, 
913-14 Union Trust 
Bldg., Washington, D. C. 
To encourage landscape im- Pres. Edward J. Parker, 

provement. Quincy, 111. 

A state federation of local Mr. E. T. Hartman, 3 Joy 
civic improvement associa- Street, Boston, 
tions. 



The International Har- 
vester Company Service 
Bureau. 



Field Day and Play Pic- 
nic for Country Chil- 
dren, New Paltz, N. Y. 

Farmers' Legislative Club 
of Illinois. 

Boston Town Room. 



Cornell Agricultural Sur- 
veys. 



IX. MISCELLANEOUS 

A general clearing house 
of agricultural information. 
Lantern slides, photographs, 
articles, statistics, etc., re- 
lating to farm life furnished 
free. 

To further the growth of play 
in the country. 



To protect and advance the 
legal welfare of agriculture. 
(Page 307.) 

A center of information on 
Massachusetts rural towns. 
Furnishes local historical 
data, legends, relics, etc. 

Intensive study of the rural 
resources and conditions of 
a county of New York. 



International Harvester 
Company, Harvester 
Bldg., Chicago, 111. 



Myron T. Scudder, Rut- 
gers Preparatory School, 
New Brunswick, New 
Jersey. 

Pres. Hon. Clayton S. 
Pervier, Sheffield, 111. 

Librarian, Boston Town 
Room, No. 3 Joy Street. 



Secy. A. R. Mann, Cornell 
Agricultural College, 
Ithaca. N. Y. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Note. — The following bibliography has been carefully selected from a 
reading list of several hundred annotations. Students in school will 
find all references easily available, and working country teachers can 
procure many for the asking. All books listed may be bought of 
A. C. McClurg & Company, Chicago, or the Baker and Taylor Com- 
pany, New York, at the prices quoted, and single copies of all maga- 
zines referred to may be purchased of the H. W. Wilson Company, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota. References marked with the asterisk are 
best for teachers. 

PART I.— COUNTRY LIFE 

/. Country Life in General — Books 

*Bailey, L. H. — The Country Life Movement. Macmillan Co., New 

York, 191 1. $1.25. Clear analysis of the present Country Life 

Movement made by its chief guide. 
*Bailey, L H. — Cyclopedia of American Agriculture. In four volumes. 

Macmillan Co., New York, 1909. $20. Vol. I, Farms, Climates, 

and Soils ; II, Farm Crops ; III, Farm Animals ; IV, The Farm and 

the Community. Extremely valuable. 
*Bailey, L. H. — The Farmer and the State. Macmillan Co., New York. 

$1.25. Valuable contribution; should be read by all farmers. 
*Bailey, L. H. — The Training of Farmers. The Century Co., New 

York, 1909. $1. Discusses the means of training farmers, and the 

common school and the college in relation to farm training. 
*Buell, Jennie. — One Woman's Work for Farm Women. Whitcomb & 

Barrows, Boston. 50 cents. Story of the life of Mary A. Mayo, 

of Michigan, a pioneer country life leader. 
*Butterfield, K. L. — Chapters in Rural Progress. The University of 

Chicago Press, Chicago, 1908. $1. The best analysis of rural 

sociological conditions yet published. 
*Butterfield, K. L. — The Country Church and the Rural Problem. The 

University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 191 1. $1. Excellent analysis 

of the country church situation. Shows relation of the church to 

the whole rural problem. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



389 



*Carver, T. N. — Principles of Rural Economics. Ginn & Co., Boston, 
191 1. $1.30. Most scholarly discussion of rural economics so far 
published. 
Coulter, John Lee. — Cooperation Among Farmers. Sturgis & Walton, 

New York, 191 1. 75 cents. 
Davenport, Eugene. — Education for Efficiency. D. C. Heath & Co., 
Boston, 1910. $1. Valuable analysis of the place of agriculture in 
the public school curriculum. 

*Dodd, Mrs. Helen. — The Healthful Farmhouse. Whitcomb & Bar- 
rows, New York, 1906. 60 cents. A practical account of the 
remodeling of a farmhouse. 

*Field, Jessie. — The Corn Lady. A. Flanagan Co., Chicago., 191 1. 
The letters of a country teacher to her father. Suggestive and 
concrete. 

*Foght, Harold W. — The American Rural School. Macmillan Co., 
New York, 1909. $1.25. Deals with problems of the country 
school chiefly from the administrative point of view. 

*Grayson, David. — Adventures in Contentment. Doubleday, Page & 
Co., Garden City, L. I., N. Y., 1910. $1.20. Charming sketches of 
life in the open country. 
Haggard, H. R, — Rural Denmark and Its Lessons. Longmans, 
Green & Co., London, 191 1. $2.25. An account of the marvelous 
agricultural transformation of Denmark. 

*Kern, O. J. — Among Country Schools. Ginn & Co., Boston. $1.25. 
Deals with country school problems from the teacher's viewpoint. 
Profusely illustrated. 
Ogden, H. R.— Rural Hygiene. Macmillan Co. $1.50. 

*Page, Logan Waller. — Roads, Paths and Bridges. Sturgis & Walton 
Co., New York, 1912. 75 cents. The best book on roads for 
farmers yet written. Explains the service of the national Office 
of Public Roads and contains essential information upon road- 
making and care. 

*Plunkett, Sir Horace. — The Rural Life Problems in the United States. 
The Macmillan Co., New York, 1910. $1.25. Written by a leader 
of Irish agriculture. Declares business cooperation the chief 
need of American farmers. 

*Report of the Commission on Country Life. Government Printing 
Office, Washington, D. C. 10 cents (not in stamps). Or complete 
in book form from the Sturgis & Walton Co., New York. 84 cents, 
postpaid. Summary of country life conditions in the United States, 



390 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



with constructive suggestions for remedy. Probably the most 
important single document ever published on American farm life. 

*Wilson, Warren H. — The Church of the Open Country. Missionary 
Education Movement of the United States and Canada, New York, 
191 1. 50 cents. Constructive and stimulating treatment of the 
difficulties of the country church. 

*Wray, Angelina. — Jean Mitchell's School. Public School Publishing 
Co., Bloomington. $1. Charming narrative of a country teacher's 
experience. Suggestive and helpful for young teachers. 

77. Country Life — Sociological Phases 
Actual Rural Independence. World's Work, 2 \J19-21, May, 1901. 

Portrays modernized farm life; attractive picture of comfort. 
Life of the Farmer; Symposium. Outlook, 91:823-35, April 10, 1909. 
Several short articles presenting farm life from different points of 
view. 
*Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. J. M. Gillette, 
American Journal of Sociology, 16:645-67. March, 191 1. Says 
that the city drift is not so baneful because of general decrease as 
because rural leaders are thus extracted from the country com- 
munity. 
Rural Slums. H. White. Independent, 65 :8i9-2i. Oct. 8, 1908. 
Says slums exist in country as in city and discusses same. 
*Why Boys Leave the Farm. L. H. Bailey. Century, 72 :4io-4i6. July, 

1906. Report of questionnaire addressed to Cornell students. 
*Why Some Boys Take to Farming. Century, 72:612-17. Aug., 1906. 
Report of questionnaire as above. 

777. Country Life — Economic Phases 
* Agrarian Revolution in the Middle West. J. B. Ross. North Amer- 
ican Review, 190:376-91. September, 1909. Valuable analysis of 
the cause and effect of farm migration in section named. 
*Bottom Economic Fact. World's Work, 20:13115-6. July, 1910. Says 
bottom economic fact for a prosperous agriculture is for each man 
to own his own land. 
Cooperative Farmer. J. C. Coulter. World's Work, 23:59-63. No- 
vember, 191 1. Good treatment of the status of agricultural business 
cooperation in the United States. 
♦Passing of the Man With the Hoe. World's Work, 20:13246-58. 
August, 1910. Inspirational account of the agricultural revolution 
due to engine-plowing and the use of other machinery. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY ?Ql 

System of Tenant Farming and Its Results. J. W. Froley, Superin- 
tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Paper, 5 cents. A 
special study of tenant farming in the South. 

*Tenancy in the North Central States. B. H. Hibbard. Quarterly 
Journal of Economics. 25.710-29. August, 1911. Names the high 
price of land and the one-crop system as chief factors in tenancy. 
An excellent fundamental study. 

*What We Must Do to Be Fed. James J. Hill; World's Work, 
19:12226-54. November, 1909. Emphasizes the necessity of scien- 
tific farming. 

IV. Farm Home and Women on the Farm 

Dodd, Mrs. Helen — The Healthful Farmhouse. See book list above. 

Buell, Jennie. — One Woman's Work for Farm Women. See book list 
above. 

Ogden, H. R. — Rural Hygiene. See book list above. 
*Davenport, Mrs. E. — Possibilities of the Country Home (bulletin). 
Published by University of Illinois, Urbana. Treats lighting, water 
supply, beautifying, and other phases of farmhouse improvements. 
Very practical. 
*King, F. H. — Ventilation for Dwellings, Rural Schools, and Stables. 
Published by the author, Madison, Wis. 75 cents. An excellent, 
practical discussion of the necessity and method of proper ventila- 
tion for both man and animals. 

Farmers' Institute Lecture No. 8. Syllabus of Illustrated Lecture 
on Farm Architecture. Office of Experiment Stations, Washington, 
D. C. Lecture and slides furnished free for those who desire their 
use. 
The following numbers of Farmers' Bulletins, free from the Secretary 
of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. : 99, Insect Enemies of Shade 
Trees; 126, Practical Suggestions for Farm Buildings; *I55, How 
Insects Affect Health in Rural Districts; *i85, Beautifying Home 
Grounds ; 248, The Lawn ; *27o, Modern Convenience's for Farm 
Homes ; *345, Some Common Disinfectants ; 375, Care of Food in 
the Home; *389, Bread and Bread Making. 

V. Country Church 
*Butterfield, K. L. — The Country Church and the Rural Problem. See 

book list. 
*Wilson, W. H.— The Church of the Open Country. See book list. 
^Biennial Reports of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in 



392 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

America. 1611 Clarendon Bldg., New York. Free. Best source of 
information regarding church federation. 

*Rural Manhood. Monthly magazine devoted to the work of the Young 
Men's Christian Association in rural districts. Published by the 
International Committee of the Y. M. C. A., at 124 East 28th Street, 
New York. $1 a year. 

^Proceedings of the New England Country Church Association. Ad- 
dress the President, Prof. T. N. Carver, 16 Kirkland Road.. Cam- 
bridge, Mass. Free. 
A Proper Village Church. World's Work, 16:10364-70. June, 1908. 
Deals most commendably with country and village church archi- 
tecture. 

*Modern Methods in the Country Church. M. B. McNutt. Missionary 
Education Movement, New York. Free. Detailed story of ten 
years' experience in a country church. 

*Ten Years in a Country Church. Matthew B. McNutt. World's 
Work, 21:13761-66. December, 1910. An account of perhaps the 
best country church in the United States as told by its pastor. 
Religious Overlapping. A. J. Kennedy. Independent, 64:795 and 1028. 
April 9 and May 7, 1908. Pictures conditions in a typical over- 
churched village. 

VI. Farmers' Organizations 

^Farmers' Social Organizations. K. L. Butterfield. Cyclopedia of Agri- 
culture, 4:289-91. Best reference article on subject; treats various 
organizations briefly. 

*National Grange Proceedings. Published annually. Address Oliver 

Wilson, Peoria, 111. Free. 
State Grange— A Social Force. Survey, 23 : 703-4. February 12, 1910. 

Account of Grange influence in New York state. 
The Grange— Its Work and Ideals. New England Magazine, 42: 
184-91. April, 1910. 

Illinois State Farmers' Institute Report. Address Secretary H. A. 
McKeene, Springfield. Free. In other states address respective 
state officers. For addresses see circular 51 listed below. 

*The best references on farmers' institutes are the publications of the 
Office of Experiment Stations of the U. S. Department of Agri- 
culture. Current list may always be obtained from Farmers' Insti- 
tute Specialist John Hamilton. From the Secretary of Agriculture, 
Washington, D. C, the following numbers may be obtained free : 
Circulars— *No. 51, List of State Directors of Farmers' Institutes 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



393 



and Institute Lecturers in the United States for Last Current Year ; 
*No. 85, Farmers' Institutes for Women ; No. 98, Progress in Agri- 
cultural Education Extension (1910). Bulletins — Nos. 154, 165, 182, 
199, 213, and Proceedings of the fourteenth and fifteenth annual 
meetings of the American Association of Farmers' Institute 
Workers. 
From the Superintendent of Documents the following pay publica- 
tions and others may be obtained : Bulletins — No. 135, Legisla- 
tion Relating to Farmers' Institutes in the United States. 5 cents ; 
*No. 174, History of Farmers' Institutes in the United States. John 
Hamilton, 1906. 15 cents. 

VII. Agricultural Education 

Farmers' Debt to Science. Review of Reviews, 36:186-94, August, 
1907. 

Leadership of the Agricultural College. K. L. Butterfield. Inde- 
pendent, 65 :368-70, August 13, 1908. 
^Making Good Farmers Out of Poor Ones. Rosa P. Childs. Review 
of Reviews, 42 : November, 1910, pp. 563-8. Interesting account of 
Dr. S. A. Knapp's work among southern farmers. 

Railroading Knowledge to Farmers. World's Work, 23:100-106. 
November, 191 1. Account of agricultural exhibit trains. Well 
illustrated. 

United States Department of Agriculture. B. M. Davis. Elementary 
School Teacher, 10:101-9. November, 1909. Good explanation of 
the work and organization of this department. 

The Land Grant Colleges. Cyclopedia of Agriculture, 4:415-17. 

VIII. Roads and Transportation 

*Page, Logan Waller. — Roads, Paths, and Bridges. See book list. 
*Ravenel's Road Primer for School Children. A. C. McClurg & Co., 

Chicago, 1912. $1. An elementary discussion of roads. Used as a 

text in the schools of Missouri. Very helpful to country teachers. 
*A Good Roads Agent. Charles Dillon. Harper's Weekly, 54:11-12. 

April 9, 1910. A story recounting the humorous experiences of a 

good-roads enthusiast, in "Nameless Country," Missouri. 
*Dragging a Road Across Iowa. Harper's Weekly, 54:11-12, July 23, 

1910. Tells of the dragging of a road 380 miles long across Iowa. 
*Good Roads the Way to Progress. Logan Waller Page. World's 

Work, 18:11807-19, July, 1909. Excellent, popular article showing 

the value of good roads. Well illustrated. 



394 



COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 



*Price We Pay for Bad Roads. Collier's, 42:14-15, July 17, 1909. Good, 
popular article. Well illustrated. 

*Roadbuilding and Maintenance, with Examples of French and English 
Methods. Ernest Flagg. Cent ury, 79:139-49, November, 1909. Ex- 
cellent comparison of American and European efficiency in road 
building. 

*What the Motor Vehicle Is Doing for the Farmer. Scientific Amer- 
ican, 102 :50, January 15, 1910. Tells of the extensive use of auto- 
mobiles by farmers and speaks of makes well adapted to farm use. 
From the Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, the following 
publications listed in Public Roads Circular No. 88, 3rd revision, 
may be obtained free: Circulars — No. 21, Methods of Constructing 
Macadam Roads ; *2$, Money Value of Good Roads to Farmers ; 
27, Cost of Hauling Farm Products to Market in European Coun- 
tries ; 91, Sand-clay and Earth Roads in the Middle West. Farmers' 
Bulletins — *No. 311, Sand-clay and Burnt-clay Roads; *32i, Use 
of the Split-log Drag (D. W. King) ; *338, Macadam Roads. 
Yearbook Articles — 332, Building Sand-clay Roads in Southern 
States ; *350, Practical Road Building in Madison County, Ten- 
nessee; *407, Progress of Road Legislation and Improvement in 
Different States; 412, Object Lesson Roads; *Syllabus of Illus- 
trated Lectures on Roads and Road Building — Farmers' Institute 
Lecture No. 7. 
From the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C, the fol- 
lowing publications listed in Public Roads Circular No. 88, 3rd re- 
vision, may be obtained: Circulars — *No. Z2>, Road Improvement 
in Governor's Messages, 5 cents ; *34, Social, Commercial, and 
Economic Phases of the Road Subject, 5 cents; 36, List of Na- 
tional, State, and Local Road Associations, 5 cents. 

PART II. THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

/. School Buildings and Grounds 
^Circular descriptive of the rural school building of Cornell College of 
Agriculture. Address the College, Ithaca, N. Y. Photograph, plan, 
and specifications of excellent building costing $1,800. Send for; 
free. 
Heating and Ventilation of Small Schoolhouses. Bulletin No. 15. 
Issued by the State Department of Public Instruction, St. Paul, 
Minn. Contains especially a form for reports on rural school 
heatinar and ventilating. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 395 

^Indiana Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. 1908. 
F. A. Cotton, Chapter VIII. Postage 44 cents. Excellent refer- 
ence treating all phases of country school architecture; well illus- 
trated. 

*Model Rural School of the Missouri State Normal School at Kirks- 
ville. A bulletin published by the Normal School. Contains dia- 
grams, photographs, and full description of plans. 

*New Type of Rural Schoolhouse. Craftsman, 20:212-15, May, 1911. 
Good description of the Cornell rural schoolhouse. Well illustrated. 

*The One-room and Village Schools in Illinois. By U. J. Hoffman 
and W. S. Booth. A bulletin issued by the State Department of 
Education, Springfield, 111. Contains plans and cost of the model 
rural school building recommended by the Illinois State Depart- 
ment of Education. 
Annual Flowering Plants. Farmers' Bulletin No. 195 ; free. Sec- 
retary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
Tree Planting on Rural School Grounds. Farmers' Bulletin No. 134; 
free. Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 

77. Social Aspects 

*Boys' and Girls' Agricultural Clubs. Farmers' Bulletin No. 385. 
Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Tells of various clubs 
and of the movement in general. Illustrated. 
Boys' Demonstration Work : the Corn Clubs. Bulletin. Superin- 
tendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. Paper, 5 cents. Official 
report of the work of Dr. Seaman A. Knapp's southern boys' corn 
clubs. 

*Field Day and Play Picnic for Country Children. Pamphlet by Myron 

T. Scudder. Charities Publication Committee, 105 East 22nd Street, 

' New York. 10 cents. See also Outlook, 92:1031-8. Contains an 

account of a play picnic and valuable helps for conducting others, 

*Socializing the Country School. School News, October and November, 
1908. Concrete narrative of what one country teacher did in this 
direction. 

777. Curriculum 

*Common Schools and Farming. In Bailey's The Training of Farmers, 
PP- 137-66. See book list above. Excellent ; shows necessity of 
teaching in terms of the daily experience of children and projects 
prophetic ideal of country teaching. 



396 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

*Davenport, E. — The Next Step in Agricultural Education. Bulletin 
published by the University of Illinois, Urbana. An argument for 
a balanced education of liberal and vocational training for farm 
children. 

♦Geography in Rural Schools. Richard E. Dodge, Journal of Geogra- 
phy, 8:202-6, May, 1910. Shows well how to teach geography in 
relation to farm life. 

♦Industrial and Social Work in the Elementary School. Frederick G. 
Bonser and others. A series of four bulletins issued by the Western 
Illinois State Normal School, Macomb. An excellent concrete ex- 
ample of how to relate school work to daily life. Illustrated. 
Industrial Education for Rural Communities. Report of Special Com- 
mittee of the National Educational Association. Annual proceed- 
ings for 1908. Gives detailed accounts of industrial work done in 
various consolidated and rural schools and contains general sugges- 
tions on rural industrial work. 

IV. Country Teachers — Training and Leadership 

♦Country School Department of the Illinois State Normal University. 
A bulletin. Address the institution at Normal, Illinois. 

♦Rural School Department of the Kirksville Normal School. A bul- 
letin. Address the institution at Kirksville, Mo. 
County Training Schools. Biennial report of the State Superintendent 
of Wisconsin. 1906-08; 58-85. 

♦Educational Engineers. Booker T. Washington. Outlook, 95 1266-7, 
June 4, 1910. Excellent article revealing the country teacher's 
opportunity for leadership. 

♦Michigan's Preparation of Teachers for Rural Schools. Ernest Burn- 
ham. Elementary School Teacher, 9:138-45, November, 1908. 

♦State Normal Schools and the Rural School Problem. H. N. Loomis. 
Educational Review, 39:484-99, May, 1910. Exhaustive article 
showing effort of normal schools in this field. 
Training of Teachers for Rural Schools. A. E. Bennett. Bulletin. 
Address writer at Fayette, Iowa. Address before the Iowa State 
Teachers' Association advocating country teacher training in high 
schools. 
Teachers for the Country School ; kind wanted ; how to secure them. 
L. J. Alleman. National Educational Association Proceedings. 
1910 :28o-2. Special preparation of teachers for rural schools. 
N. E. A., 1910; 575-88. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



397 



V. Supervision and Legislation 

*Country Schools for Country Children. World's Work, 24:102-8. 
An account of the good supervisory work of County Superintendent 
Jessie Field of Page County, Iowa. 

*County Supervision. National Education Association Proceedings 
1908: 252-71. Discussions by state superintendents. 

^Illinois Educational Commission Reports. State Department of Edu- 
cation, Springfield, 111. 1909. Several bulletins containing ex- 
haustive studies of school legislation. 
Rural School Board Conventions. C. P. Cary, National Education 
Association Proceedings, 1907. 

*Toddling into Farming. F. G. Moorhead. World Today, 19:1032-7, 
September, 1910. Describes work of County Superintendent O. H. 
Benson, Clarion, Wright County, Iowa. 

VI. Consolidation 

Catalog of the John Swaney School. Address the principal, McNabb, 
Illinois. Contains history of the school and its course of study. 
Illustrated. 

*Centralizated Schools in Ohio. Extension bulletin. -February, 1909. 
Published by the University of Ohio, Columbus. Free. 
Consolidation of Schools. R. J. Aley. National Educational Associa- 
tion Proceedings, 1910 : 276-7. 

*Consolidated Rural Schools and Organization of a County System. 
Geo. W. Knorr. Bulletin 232. Office of Experiment Stations, 
United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
Free. Best study of consolidation so far made. Advocates county 
systems for consolidating. Full of valuable data on cost, etc. 

*Consolidation of Country Schools. Bulletin issued by the University 
of Illinois, Urbana. Free'. The report of a special committee sent 
to investigate consolidated schools in Ohio. Contains good sum- 
maries of the question. 
Community Work in the Rural High School. J. D. Crosby. Year- 
book. U. S. Department of Agriculture. 1910 : 177-88. 

*Indiana Report of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, 1908. 
F. A. Cotton. Chapter V. Valuable reference ; well illustrated. 
Speaks of several schools in detail. 

*Hays, Willet M. — Education for Country Life. Circular 84, Office of 
Experiment Stations, Washington, D. C. Shows possibilities of 
the consolidated school as a community center. 



398 COUNTRY LIFE AND THE COUNTRY SCHOOL 

*How Denmark Has Taught Itself Prosperity and Happiness. Booker 
T. Washington. World's Work, 22:14486-94. June, 1911. Tells 
of the rural high schools, or folk schools, that have made 
Denmark over. 

*New Kind of Country School. O. J. Kern. World's Work, 16: 
10720-22, September, 1908. Good brief account of the John Swaney 
Consolidated School of Putnam County, Illinois. 

*State Bulletins on Consolidation. The following states publish espe- 
cially good bulletins on consolidation (191 1). To obtain, address 
state superintendents at various state capitals : Minnesota, Kansas, 
Louisiana, Washington, North Carolina, Iowa, Massachusetts, and 
Oklahoma. 
Study of Fifteen Consolidated Rural Schools, their Organization, 
Cost, Efficiency, and Affiliated Interests. George W. Knorr, South- 
ern Education Board, Washington, D. C. 
The Township High School in Illinois. A bulletin by Horace A. 
Hollister. Published by the University of Illinois, Urbana. Good 
account of the work of township high schools. Illustrated. 
Consolidation and Transportation — Supreme Court Decisions. E. C 
Elliott. Bulletin. U. S. Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C. 



INDEX 

Agencies, country community, 12 ; overlapping of, 14. 

Agricultural college, influence of, 303. 

Agriculture in schools, purpose of, 179 ; course in, 243. 

Aked, Charles F., quoted, 70. 

American Association of Farmers' Institute Workers, 95. 

American Highway League, 124. 

Amherst Movement, 304. 

Automobile, effect upon road building, 119 ; for conveyance of school 
children, 132, 174. 

Bailey, Liberty Hyde, quoted 3, 26, 31, 273, 365 ; referred to, 274, 312, 320 ; 
poem on country school, 325. 

Bayliss, Alfred, 266. 

Bill, A. J., 102. 

Blair, F. G., quoted, 150. 

Blake, Edgar, quoted, 42. 

Books, selected list of, for country teachers, 374. 

Butterfield, Kenyon L., indebtedness to, 3 note and 42 ; referred to, 12 note ; 
quoted on the church, 13 ; on the Grange, 78 ; warning to Grange, 85 ; 
referred to, 274, 309 ; influence for rural federation, 317 ; reference, 
320, 336. 

Campbell, Angus, 306. 

Carpenter, Mary, 286. 

Church, country, 39-71, abandoned, 8 ; function of, 13 ; as rural progress 
agency, 39 ; present status, 40 ; digest of replies from Country Life 
Commission, 43 ; federation of, 47 ; federated church at Proctor, Vermont, 
50 ; Federal Council of Churches, 50 ; Presbyterian Department of 
Church and Country Life, 53-57 ; Methodist, note 57 ; possibilities and 
needs, general, 60 ; local possibilities, 62 ; DuPage Church, 62-67 ; 
country teacher's relation to, 67 ; coming unity, 69. 

Clear Creek Community, description of, 9-10. 

Clubs, household science, 38 ; farmers', 85-88 ; boys' and girls', 230 ; parents', 
234 ; country life, 237. 

Community building, significance of, 9-10 ; women's share in, 30 ; as a factor 
in rural migration, 314 ; principles of, 315. 

Community center, country, description of Clear Creek, 9 ; diagram of, 15 : 
country school as, 134, 232 ; consolidated school as, 184 ; ideal center 
described, 314. 

Conference of Agricultural Educators and Rural Social Workers, in Mass., 
53, 304. 

Conservatism, rural, 6. 

Consolidation, 149-187 ; the future system, 145 ; fundamental need of country 
schools, 148 : definition and types, 149 ; possibilities, 150-158 ; John 
Swaney School, 150 ; history and status, 159-170 ; in Indiana, 160-64 ; in 
Minnesota, 164 ; in Iowa, 165 ; in Kansas, 165 ; in Idaho and Washington, 
166 ; in Louisiana and the South, 168 ; advantages, 170, 180 ; difficulties 
involved, 171 ; transportation, 171-74 ; cost of, 174-76 ; compared with 
other rural high schools, 176 ; advantages as agency for reconstruction of 
country life, 180 ; county system for, 181-84 ; as a community center, 
184-87 ; future type of, 186 ; duty of teachers in advancing movement, 
187 ; how to conduct campaigns for, 246-51 ; legislation for, 300. 

399 



400 INDEX 



Cooperation, rural, importance of, 10 ; forces involved in, 12 ; see organization. 

Country life, significance of its prosperity, 4 ; women's part in, 30 ; 
consolidated school as agency for reconstruction of, 180; creed for, 
203 ; greatest single need for, 252 ; prose and poetry of, 321, 323. 

Country Life Commission, suggestions on household labor, 29 ; on the church, 
40 ; digest from, 43-47 ; quoted on church federation, 48 ; quoted on 
Y. M. C. A. work, 57 ; report of, 69, 389 ; its work, 312 ; 321. 

Country Life Movement, 302-327 ; women's part in, 31 ; influence of roads 
on, 108 ; character of, 302 ; some developments of, 303-313 ; relation of 
agricultural colleges to, 303 ; influence of machinery upon, 305 ; relation 
of business organization to, 306 ; legislation contributing to, 306 ; the 
movement in the South, 307 ; in the East, 309 ; in the West, 309 ; in 
the Middle West, 310 ; International Institute of Agriculture, 312 ; 
Country Life Commission and its work, 312 ; needs of the movement, 
313-27 ; concreteness, 313 ; federation of rural forces, 316 ; leadership, 
321 ; idealism, 323. 

Country Teachers" Association of Illinois, 273. 

Country Training School of the Macomb, 111., normal school, 266-73. 

County boards of education, 288. 

County normal schools, 256. 

County superintendents, normal school help for, 279 ; see also supervision. 

County system, for roads, 118 ; for consolidated schools, 181-84. 

Courses for the training of country teachers, outlines of, 329-340. 

Creed, for country life, 203. 

Cubberly, Elwood P., quoted, 299. 

Cummings, C. S., 49. 

DeKalb County, Illinois, farmers' clubs in, 85 ; agricultural secretary in, 314. 

Digest of country church information, 43. 

Domestic science, minimum equipment for teaching in country schools, 373. 
See household science. 

Dry Farming Congress, 310. 

DuPage Church, Plainfield, Illinois, account of, 63-67. 

Eaton, William L., 159. 

Education, vocational, for farm women, 29 ; agricultural, 179. 

Educational helps and sources for country teachers, 350-58. 

Entertainments, school, references, 354. 

Enumclaw consolidated school, 167. 

Exhibits, educational, as social force, 236 ; country life exhibit, 320 ; list of, 
for geography, 351. 

Exhibit trains, agricultural, 98 ; for roads, 128. 

Extension work, for homes, 38 ; through farmers' institutes, 98 ; for country 
teachers, 264 ; in state normal schools, 278. 

Fairchild, E. T., 165 ; quoted, 256. 

Fairs, Grange, 82, 84. 

Farmers' clubs, 85-87, compared with granges, 85 ; of DeKalb County, Illinois, 
account of, 86-87. 

Farmers' Cooperative Demonstration Work, 307. 

Farmers' institutes, 90-107 ; work for farm homes, 34 ; as a rural progress 
agency, 90 ; origin and history, 90 ; organization, 93-95 ; present status 
and progress, 96-100 ; normal institutes, 96 ; institutes for women, 97 ; 
for young people, 97 ; exhibit trains, 98 ; movable schools, 99 ; summer 
institutes, 100 ; cooperation with school, 102-107 ; list of illustrated 
lectures, 106. 

Farm problem, 1-17 ; statement of, 2 ; significance of, 3 ; cause, 4 ; solution, 7. 

Farmers' Voice, 102. 

Farms, average size of American, 4 ; compared with European, 4. 

Federal Bureau of Country Life, need of, 320. 

Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, 50, 



INDEX 401 

Federation, of community agencies, 16 ; of churches, 47-50, 69 ; of rural 

forces, 316. 
Feuds, rural, cause of, 7. 
Field, Jessie, 296. 

Furnishings and equipment for country schools, 346-350. 
France, highway system of, 110. 
Geography exhibits, list of, 351. 
Good Roads, 128. 
Government, function of, 13. 
Government publications, explanation of, 357. 
Grange, 72-89; 6, 14; work for farm homes, 34; as socializing agency, 72; 

origin and purpose, 72 ; declaration of purposes, 73 ; history, 75 ; present 

status, 76 ; organization, 76 ; Pomona grange, 77 ; officers, 77 ; secrecy, 

78 ; work and influence, 78 ; official organ, 79 ; business undertakings, 79 ; 

educational and social work, 80 ; work for women, 81 ; Magnolia grange, 

account of, 81-84 ; words of warning to, 85 ; compared with farmers' 

clubs, 85 ; cooperation with school, 88. 
Grout farm encampment, 98, 99. 
Hall, Caroline, 81. 
Hall, Frank, quoted, 86; 104. 
Hamilton, John, quoted, 99. 
High schools, rural, types of, 176-179. 
Highways, see roads. 
Hitchcock, Dr., of Amherst, Mass., 91. 
Hoffman, TJ. J., quoted, 213. 
Home, farm, 18-38 ; functions and needs of, 12 ; as progress agency, 18 ; 

conditions, 19 ; average, 19 ; ideal, 22 ; inferior, 23 ; improvement of, 24 ; 

spiritualizing of, 31 ; as center of interests, 33 ; cooperation with 

school, 35, 234. 
House, farm, planning, 19 ; sanitation and ventilation, 21 ; L. H. Bailey, ideas 

on, 26. 
Household science, 37 ; necessity of, for farm women, 29 ; course in, 244 ; 

see also domestic science. 
Idealism, rural, in Clear Creek Community, 10 ; significance of, 323 ; school's 

part in stimulating, 323-325. 
Illinois, country churches in, 41, 63 ; Grange in, 81 ; farmers' institute in, 96 ; 

college of agriculture, 93 ; school revenue in, 140 ; consolidation in, 160 ; 

township high schools in, 176 ; legislation for consolidation in, 251, 301 ; 

country-teacher training in, 262-75. 
Illinois Federation for Country Life Progress, origin, 275 ; account of, 

318-20. 
Indiana, farmers' institute in, 96 ; consolidation in, 160 ; country-teacher 

training in, 258 ; school directors' conventions in, 301. 
Institutions, rural, functions and needs, 12. 
International Association of Road Congresses, 125. 
International Congress of Farm Women, 310. 
International Harvester Co., 384. 
Iowa, rural population, 8 ; farmers' institute in, 96 ; dragged road, 123 ; 

consolidation in, 165 ; Page County schools, 296. 
Isolation, 4 ; effects of, 6-7 ; of teachers, 194. 
Johnson, A. N., 114. 
Joyner, J. Y., 168. 

Kansas, consolidation in, 165 ; country-teacher training in, 256. 
Kelley, Oliver H., 72 ; photograph, 73. 
Kern, O. J., 296. 
King, D. Ward, 118. 

Knapp, Dr. S. A., corn clubs, 232 ; 307. 
Knorr, George W., quoted, 159, 175, 181. 



4 02 INDEX 

Labor, agricultural, 24 ; household, 25. 

Landlordism, increase of, 8. 

Leadership, country-teacher, for home improvement, 37 ; advantages of 

teacher for, 189 ; requirements for, 190 ; explanation of true leadership, 

192 ; examples of country-teacher leadership, 197-203 ; teacher's leadership 

as social force, 229. 
Leadership, rural, extraction of, 2 ; scarcity of, 7, 188 ; kinds, 322 ; function 

of each kind, 322. 
Lectures, illustrated, 106. 
Legislation, need of rural, 13 ; advocated and attained by the Grange. 78 ; 

needed for country schools, 300 ; agricultural, 306 ; Farmers' Legislative 

Club in Illinois, 307. 
Lewiston Consolidated school, 164. 

Libraries, in the home, 33 ; school libraries, where to get lists for, 356. 
Lighting, of homes, 32 ; of schoolhouses, 214-16. 
Literature idealizing country life, list of, 365. 
Louisiana, consolidation in, 168. . 
Lubin, David, 312. 
MacAdam, 122. 

Macadam road, construction, 122 ; in future, 132. 
Machinery, household, 28 ; farm, 305. 
Magazine articles, where to buy, 388. 
Magnolia Grange, account of, 81. 
Management, household, 29. 

Manual Training, in Whatcom County, Washington, 286 ; principles under- 
lying and list of tools, 372. 
Massachusetts, farmers' institutes in, 91 ; roads in, 119 ; consolidation in, 

159 ; agricultural schools in, 179. 
Massachusetts College of Agriculture, country church conferences at, 53 ; 

social work of, 304. 
McNutt, Matthew B., quoted, 63. 
Michigan, Grange in, 81; farmers' institute in, 93 ; 96 ; women's institutes 

in, 97 ; exhibit trains, 99 ; county agricultural schools in, 179 ; county 

normal schools in, 256 ; training of country teachers in, 260 ; Kalamazoo 

normal school, 261 ; Hesperia movement, 385. 
Migration, rural, 1. 

Minister, country, salaries, 42 ; training of, 51-53 ; leadership of, 51. 
Minnesota, Y. M. C. A. in, 59 ; Grange in, 81 ; special aid for country schools, 

301 ; consolidation in, 164 ; agricultural high schools in, 178 ; Olmsted 

county map, 183 ; country-teacher training in high schools of, 256 ; 

directors' meetings in, 301. 
Missouri, road system of, 118 ; road instruction in, 130 ; country-teacher 

training in, 259 ; rural supervision in, 296. 
Moore, Jerry, 232. 
Morse, Dr. L. D., quoted, 93. 

Music and farm-life songs, for country schools, list of, 368-71. 
National Corn Association, 310. 
National Good Roads Association, 124. 
National Grange Monthly, 79 ; 88. 
New England Conference for Rural Progress, 309. 
Normal schools, state farmers' institutes in, 104 ; country school departments 

in, 253 ; country-teacher training in, 258 ; outline for rural departments 

in, 275. 
Office of Public Roads explained, 113 ; service of, 127 note. 
Ohio, farmers' institutes in, 92 ; consolidation in, 159 ; transportation in, 172. 
Organization, rural, lack of, 7. 

Organizations, farm, function of, 13 ; needs of, 14 ; for business, 306. 
Outbuildings, school, 228. 



INDEX 403 

Page, Logan Waller, quoted, 111 ; book by, 127 note. 

Parke, H. H., quoted, 86. 

Patrons of Husbandry, see Grange. 

Pictures, for farm home, 33 note ; for school, 363. 

Plans for a country school building, 340-46. 

Platform for country life improvement, 16-17. 

Play, references on, 353. 

Plunkett, Sir Horace, 320. 

Politics, in highway work, 114 ; in rural supervision, 284, 292. 

Population, rural, proportion of, 4 ; decrease in, 8. 

Presbyterian Department of Church and Country Life, 53 ; platform of, 54 ; 
surveys of, 55 ; conferences and exhibits, 56 ; summer schools, 56. 

Press, rural, influence for home improvement, 34 ; discussion of, 100-102 ; 
newspaper as agency for school improvement, 235. 

Principles of country community building, 315. 

Problem, country teacher's, stated, 206 ; method of attack, 206. 

Program for country schools, 358-60. 

Provincialism, rural, 7. 

Radicalism, rural, 6. 

Ravenel's Road Primer, 130, 393. 

Recreation, rural, through the church, 44 ; through the school, 232, 233. 

Religion, rural, 7, 39, 70. 

Renting, increase of, 8. 

Revenue, for roads, 119 ; for country schools, 140, 175. 

Richards. Mrs. Ellen H., 19, 32. 

Roads, 108-132 ; as a rural progress agency, 5, 108 ; a national issue, 108 ; 
French road system described, 110 ; organization of American system, 
113 ; defects of American system, 114-16 ; suggestions for an improved 
system, 117 ; road movements and reforms, 118-128 ; legislative improve- 
ments, 118 ; state and federal aid, 119 ; developments in road science, 
119 ; kinds of roads defined, 120-22 ; organizations for, 122-25 ; beautify- 
ing, 125 ; road education, 126-28 ; country school and the road problem. 
129-131 ; courses in road instruction, 130 ; roads of the future, 132. 

Roberts, Albert E., 57. 

Rock Creek Church, 41. 

Rural Life Conference in Virginia, 308. 

Rural Manhood, 59. 

Rural problem, see farm problem. 

Rural school inspectors, 297. 

Sanitation, of farm homes, 21 ; of schools, 221. 

School, country, functions of, 14, 133 ; as means of improving homes, 35 ; 
relation to church, 67 ; cooperation with Grange, 88 ; cooperation with 
farmers' institutes, 102 ; relation to road problem, 129 ; as agency in 
solution of farm problem, 133-148 ; consolidated schools, 149-87 ; as a 
community center, 134 ; first duty, 136 ; advantages for leadership, 136-38 ; 
leadership, temporary, 138 ; needs of, 139 ; defects of one-teacher system, 
140-145 ; revenue, 139 ; decay of, 142 ; future system of, 145 ; fundamental 
need, 148 ; improving physical environment, 206-229 ; socializing, 229-238 ; 
redirecting course, 239-246 ; improving administration of, 246-251. 

School administration, improvement of, 246 ; model country school program, 
358 ; seat work discussed, 360. 

School buildings, defects of. 206 ; models at Cornell College, at Kirksville, 
Mo., and in Illinois, 209 ; ventilation of, 210 ; lighting, 214 ; interior 
finish, 216 ; seating, 217 ; sanitation and care, 221 ; plans for, 340-46 ; 
furnishings and equipment for, 346-50. 

School, course of study, household science in, 37, 244 ; road education in, 
129 ; in John Swaney School, 156 ; redirection of, 230-246 ; agriculture 
in, 179, 243 ; rural sociology in, 245 ; helps on course of study, 350-58 ; 



404 



INDEX 



pictures for, 363 ; industrial exhibits, 351 ; country life literature 
for, 365 ; farm-life songs for, 368 ; domestic science equipment for, 373 ; 
constructive problems in school subjects, 378-83. 

School grounds, improvement of, 223 ; what to plant on, 225 ; walks and 
fences, 227 ; outbuildings, 228. 

School, social aspects, 229-238 ; teacher's personal leadership, 229 ; boys' and 
girls' clubs, 230 ; schoolhouse meetings, 232 ; parents' clubs, 234 ; 
• function of newspapers, exhibits and educational excursions in, 235 ; 
country life clubs, 237 ; cooperation with other agencies, 238. 

Seat work in country schools, 360-63. 

Smith Agricultural School, 179. 

Sociology, rural, needed by country teachers, 254 ; outline of course in, 
336-40. 

Soil renovation work, Dr. Knapp's, 307. 

Southern Good Roads, 128. 

State, chief function of, 13. 

State aid, for roads, 119 ; for consolidation, 301 ; for one-room schools, 301. 

Summary of book, 326. 

Supervision of country schools, importance of, 281 ; difficulties, 281 ; systems, 
286 ; methods of selecting county superintendents, 287 ; qualifications 
required of, 288 ; increasing efficiency of system, 289 ; rural supervision 
as a profession, 290 ; salaries of county superintendents, 290, 296 ; 
political influence, 292, 298 ; proper method of selecting rural supervisors, 
294 ; leadership of county superintendents, 295 ; assistance for, 297 ; 
chief need, 298 ; duty of teachers to superintendents, 300. 

Surveys, rural, 55. 

System, country school, defects of, 140 ; fundamental need of, 148, 280 ; 
French highway, 110 ; American highway system, 113 ; rural supervision, 
286. 

Swaney, Mr. and Mrs. John, 159. 

Swaney, John, school, referred to, 9 ; account of, 150-6. 

Tearhers, country, responsibility for home improvement, 36 ; relation to 
churcn question, 67 ; as Grange organizers, 88 ; cooperation with farmers' 
institute, 105 ; relation to road question, 131 ; overwork of, 143 ; in John 
Swaney School, 156 ; duty concerning consolidation, 187 ; leadership of, 
188-204, 229 ; difficulties of, 193 ; tribute to, 195 ; examples of leader- 
ship of, 196 ; teacher's problem stated, 206 ; training of, for country 
schools, 252-80 ; helps and sources for, 350-58. 

Teachers, country, training of, 252-80 ; need for proper preparation 252 • 
necessity for special training of, 252 ; kind of training needed, 254 ; 
training of, in high schools, 255 ; in county normal schools, 256 ; in 
state normal schools, 258 ; course of study for, 263 ; new spirit of, 273 ; 
outline for rural departments in state normal schools, 275 ; trained 
teachers not only need of school, 280 ; outlines of special courses for 
the training of country teachers, 329-40 ; list of books for, 374 ; list of 
constructive problems for country teachers, 376-383. 

Tenantry, growth and percentage of, 8 ; effects of, 8. 

Townshend, Dr. N. S., 92. 

Township High School, in Illinois, 176. 

Township unit of school administration, 300. 

Transportation, in John Swaney school, 155 ; for consolidated schools, 171-174. 

Trees, for school grounds, 225 ; planting along highways, 125. 

Tuition, in country districts, 175. 

Unity, among churches, 69. 

Ventilation, of farm houses, 21 ; of school wagons, 173 ; of schoolhouses 
210-214. ' 

Warning to the Grange, 85. 



INDEX 



405 



Washington, consolidation in, 166 ; country-teacher training in, 261 ; directors' 

conventions in, 301. 
Waste, in one-teacher school system, 140, 145, 175 ; in consolidated schools, 

181. 
Wells, schoolhouse, 223. 
Wells, George Frederick, quoted, 62. 
Wilson, Dr. Warren H., 53. 
Wilson, Oliver, 88. 
Wisconsin, farmers' institute in, 93 ; county agricultural schools in, 179 ; 

county normal schools in, 256 ; rural school inspector in, 297 ; state aid 

to country schools in, 301 ; school directors' conventions, 301. 
Women, farm, education of, 29 ; in community affairs, 30 ; work of the 

Grange for, 80 ; institutes for, 97 ; conference of, 310. 
Youker, H. S., quoted, 257. 
Young Men's Christian Association, County Work of, 57-60 ; organization, 57 ; 

function, 58 ; extent of, 58 ; kinds of activity, 59 ; official magazine, 58, 
Young Women's Christian Association, 60. 



NOV 18 1912 



